The Yangover
by Kunoichi Golfer
Summary: After a raucous night of drinking, Weiss mysteriously wakes up in the same bed as a cheerful blonde, with an annihilated Beacon and a complete lack of memories of that very night. Now, she, a half-naked Jaune, and a brain-damaged Nora need to figure out her drunken-self's insane actions, if only for the sake of figuring out how she managed to sleep with Yang. (M for sexual themes.)
1. Chapter 1

**The rise of Sswei**

' _Yang, I need to speak to you.'_

' _whats up ice queen? lonely? ;)_

' _Not now, Yang. This is serious.'_

' _alright. wanna meet up?'_

* * *

The faint scent of lavender and the enveloping warmth. Weiss was not sure which of these woke her, but nevertheless, she was now aware of them. And at first, she was too dazed to notice that these elements were not a part of her waking-up routine. She simply enjoyed them for what they were; encompassing, pleasant and very, very easy to cuddle towards.

And cuddling towards the source of the warmth was much easier for Weiss as she was wrapped by a pair of arms, one across her back with fingertips coming to a rest on her bare breasts, the other lying on her waist. Weiss deduced she was naked. It did nothing to bother her. The light touches against her flesh produced pleasurable surges of ecstasy through her body, and within a minute, Weiss pressed closer, hoping to revel entirely in this mysterious delight.

Weiss' leg met another, a firm leg that was smooth and affable to touch. Her left arm reached around a pair of strong shoulders, becoming lost in an overabundance of long, soft and untamed hair. Her right hand found the body of her companion, a body that was wonderfully toned, tempting her to trace circles on their skin. Before Weiss could attempt to feel the gratification of caressing such a tight, sexy body, a finger slipped into their navel. This failed to deter her, and Weiss slowly and sensually slid her hand over their stomach, accidentally brushing against a perky pair of breasts. In her stupor, Weiss wanted to wake the owner of this incredible body, feeling that everything she wanted from a lover was right here, in this bed.

Weiss' slight strokes had awoken the sleeping beauty, who retorted with a small giggle and turned on her side. Yang had already decided on a course of action, and repaid Weiss' sensitive touches by very gently tickling her waist and torso. In an instant, Weiss squirmed and giggled with a joyful smile, loving the delicate sensation, loving being helpless in Yang's grasp as she caused such glee by prickling her soft skin. After a moment, the playful tickling stopped, and their feet rubbed against each other while their heads moved closer, Weiss placing a hand on Yang's bare breasts.

"Morning…" Yang muttered.

They kissed, and without reticence.

At least, it started without reticence. The moment that Yang had spoken was the moment that Weiss began to realise that she was half-asleep, and this was shortly followed by her realising that something was amiss with this scenario. She had never woken up with anyone before, and had not planned to do so in the near future. If not for this realisation, Weiss might have started to use her tongue, but instead, her eyes opened much wider than her mouth would have in that situation.

As she had already inferred, Weiss was locking lips with Yang, had a hand on her breasts, and was stark naked. In addition, she was rather moist, her body ready to have sex with the attractive blonde. All of these pieces of information ran through her mind now that she had become more alert, and they culminated in Weiss suddenly leaping out of the bed with a short scream.

In the process, she had not considered that Yang's bed was suspended in the air, and fell to the floor with a small thud, gripping the bed cover in her panic. As well as falling face first on the floor, Weiss was quickly covered in the blanket, as though the world was trying to hide her embarrassment on her behalf.

"You!" Weiss cried while tangled in the blanket. "What did you do!?"

Yang poked her head over the edge of the bed while Weiss fought a fierce battle with the covers. After a moment, the heiress' head shot through, blue eyes shooting frozen daggers at Yang.

"Me?" Yang pointed at herself innocently with a sly smile. "Do what?"

"What. Did. You. Do to get me in your bed like that? In such a compromising position?" For lack of clothing at hand, Weiss covered herself in the blanket, although Yang had not bothered taking any precautions against her nudity yet.

"Ahem, sweetie, I'm pretty sure 'you' came to 'me' last night. I like your morning-after hair, by the way." Yang leaned on the edge of the bed, arms crossed.

Last night?

Weiss tried desperately to recall the events of the previous night. She failed. Her mind became blank, a void from which nothing could be reclaimed.

However, she had no need of those memories, because Weiss knew that she was incapable of such silly actions.

"I came to you?" Weiss jabbed a finger in the air at Yang. "Do I strike you as some floozy looking to jump into bed with the prettiest blonde in school for no reason? No, if something occurred, 'you' were the cause of it."

"Doth the princess protest too much?" Hit by a sudden pang in her head, Yang leaned back and rubbed her forehead. "Nope, you wanted this… I think."

"Oh, so now it's 'I think.'" Weiss put her hands on her hips. "You can't even remember last night yourself."

"Can you?"

In addition to a lack of recollection, Weiss also had a raging headache, a pain the likes of which she had never experienced. She may have been overcome by a mixture of anger and shame, but she also wanted to crawl back into a bed- her own bed- and sleep the day away.

"Irrelevant." Weiss avoided the simple question, and paced around the RWBY dormitory. "To think that my first kiss was performed in such an egregious manner. My family would never let me live this down."

Yang had been distracted by the bed sheets, and felt it necessary to bring something to Weiss' attention.

"Oh ho, Weissie, the past few hours was your first time for more than just kissing." Yang couldn't suppress a chuckle, and leaned down to grab Weiss by the arm, pulling her to the bed with a strong grip.

Weiss wanted to pull away, but lost the will to resist when she saw blood on the bed sheets. It was not a tremendous amount of blood, but enough to indicate that her virginity now lied in tatters.

"So that's why my hand smells funny. And looks a little red." Yang pondered with amusement.

"This is… just… so…" Weiss solemnly started.

"Hey, take it easy, Weiss." Yang tried to put a comforting arm around Weiss. "This doesn't have to mean anything, you know. Take what you want from this experience."

"I would if I could remember it!" Weiss wailed like a child and ran for the bathroom. "This is just so unfair!"

* * *

Weiss spent some time in the bathroom composing herself. She showered first, hoping that a stream of water would bring back her memories of last night. As expected, it didn't, and while she was there, Weiss relieved herself of the lubricant she accrued that morning, now hoping that repetitive hand movement would serve as a reminder. This also failed, though she felt slightly better afterwards. Clean and refreshed, Weiss straightened her hair so that it fell in its natural state.

After putting some thought into the morning, Weiss organised her feelings, and knew what ultimately frustrated her. It was not the fact that she had sex with Yang, or even that it was her first time actually engaging in sex; it was simply the fact that she remembered nothing of what should have been a special occasion. Weiss took her relationships seriously, and was always too scared to try and develop them further out of fear of breaking them. So, this begged the question.

 _How? How_ did Weiss sleep with Yang? What no-doubt alcohol infused strategy did she employ to make this happen? And why was Yang so accepting of this?

Weiss stepped out of the bathroom in her regular combat attire to find that the dormitory was now empty, with a note on her bed.

' _Using JNPR's shower. We can talk later._

 _XXX_

 _P.S Avoid Ruby.'_

Three kisses? That was rather excessive. Maybe not, coming from Yang. One kiss was probably enough when addressing a friend, meaning that a trio implied a more romantic nature. Right? Weiss shrugged and threw the note into a trash can.

She left the dormitory to find that the hallway was a complete mess. Confetti had been sprayed everywhere, with posters haphazardly strewn across the walls. The door to the JNPR dormitory was open, but she heard no voices, indicating that only Yang was its occupant. It seemed likely that Yang didn't actually have permission to use their shower, but nobody was around to stop her.

Curious as to what devastated the hallway, Weiss picked up one of several posters.

 _Jaune's welcoming party!_

 _New first years and my fellow second year students, I want you!_

 _Alcohol provided! Please don't tell the teachers!_

 _If you're a teacher, please ignore this poster!_

 _The canteen, starting at 8 P.M!_

As expected from Jaune Arc, this poster was nothing more than a poorly written, pathetic scribble, but he compensated for this with quantity.

Hold on, Jaune organised a party for the lower half of the school? This seemed highly relevant somehow. In this case, Jaune must have some answers for her.

Footsteps. Light as a whisper. Weiss turned around to see a black-themed figure walking towards her.

"Blake?"

Blake's face was mostly obscured by her hair, and she seemed to be avoiding Weiss. However, when Weiss called out to her, Blake sharply whipped around, staring her in the eyes.

Blake had cat whiskers drawn on her cheeks. The cat Faunus set her steely gaze on Weiss with sheer resentment.

"…Hi, Blake." Weiss might have laughed, but the aura surrounding Blake suggested this was no laughing matter. No matter the case, Weiss found the black whiskers to be rather adorable.

"Weiss." Blake growled. "I gave you that permanent marker in good faith. And I'm repaid with treachery."

Those whiskers were Weiss' doing? Naturally, she remembered nothing about this.

"Oh, I, uh…" Weiss stammered.

Instead of responding, Blake irately stormed into their dormitory, slamming the door behind her with enough force to unhinge a poster glued to the wall.

"Okay then." Weiss didn't ponder on it for too long.

A few minutes later, and the effects of last night's party appeared widespread. The courtyard had empty kegs scattered in the fountain, the statue of the heroes was covered in toilet paper, windows were trashed, nowhere had been unscathed. At some point, she saw a student floating unconscious in the courtyard's side lake. Professor Goodwitch was furiously attempting to remove vomit staining the wall leading to the canteen, and Weiss used her better judgment to use a second entrance.

"WEEEIIIIISSSSS!"

Weiss had made it around the side of the main building when a female voice screamed her name for all in Vale to hear. It felt as though the trees and grass flowed with the scream, like a hurricane was imminent. She slowly turned around, heart racing.

A red cloak signalled Ruby, with an expression that revealed more than anger. It was fury.

"Ruby." Weiss gulped.

Ruby sped towards her in a flurry of roses, and slammed into her like a bullet. They flew into the building, pushing aside crates and tables. Weiss had barely acknowledged that they were in the canteen when Ruby pinned Weiss to the floor.

"I know what you did, Weiss! I know what you did to him!"

This was the first time in her life that she was genuinely afraid of her leader, and Weiss struggled under her grasp.

"Ruby, please, I don't know what you mean!"

"You can't feign ignorance now! You did this to him! He'll never be the same again!"

"Who's he!?"

Her question was quickly answered.

A small black blur moved out of the corner of their eyes. Ruby let Weiss go, and slowly made her way towards it.

"You poor thing…" Ruby sweetly murmured. "Look at what mean ol' Weiss did to you…"

Weiss staggered to her feet, leaning on a table for support.

A puppy swayed from side to side, something hanging out its mouth. Weiss recognised it as Zwei, but something was off about the dog. His eyes were glazed over, half open, like a drunk, and in fact, the thing hanging from its mouth was a bottle of beer.

Zwei sat on his hind legs and swigged from the bottle. He then fell on his side, clutching the brown bottle with his short, stubby legs. The appearance resembled an alcoholic in denial and if he could talk, Weiss would imagine him saying 'pfft, I'm not drunk, I schwear! I know my limits!'

As Zwei lay on his side with his tongue sticking out, Ruby bent down and tried to retrieve the bottle. He responded by growling and clutching it tighter, threatening to bite his master.

"I turned a dog into an alcoholic?" Weiss had never imagined she would say that sentence.

"I thought I knew you, Weiss." Ruby sighed, defeated. She picked up Zwei. "Weiss. You're never, ever, EVER drinking again. In fact, no wait, our team and JNPR are never drinking again!"

Ruby dashed away, leaving rose petals in her wake. All the while, her shouts and complaints could be heard loud and clear throughout the school.

Weiss supposed that she must have drank an excessive amount of alcohol last night, something she had never predicted would be one of her actions in her lifetime.

'Oh, and someone used Crescent Rose as a gardening tool! Great!' Weiss heard in the background.

Rummaging nearby alerted her to the presence of a witness of that event. The canteen was just as messy as the rest of the school, with tables flipped on their sides, lights broken, windows shattered, and boxes and kegs lying everywhere. Only one tables was in its correct position, and on one end sat a pile of garbage, and next to it, a stack of empty cardboard crates.

Except these cardboard crates were not empty. They shifted slightly and topples over, and Jaune Arc emerged.

If last night had been unkind to her and Yang, it must have been torture for Jaune. He wore his regular clothes on his upper body, but wore no trousers or shoes and socks. Instead, he wore a cardboard box around his waist labelled 'may contain nuts.'

"Who. Is. Shouting…?" Jaune stumbled forth and fell onto the table, the box scratching the sides. His hair was severely unkempt and dirty, and his voice was raspy and dry.

"Jaune?" Weiss spoke barely audibly.

"OW! Why are you shouting at me!?" He whined, and put his head on the table. This allowed Weiss to notice the mud clinging to his bare legs.

"I see that you also experienced a raucous night." She reluctantly sat opposite him.

"Probably…" Jaune shrugged. "What happened to my pants…?" He only just noticed his missing clothing.

"You don't remember?"

Somewhere far away, they heard Ruby shout 'Oh, great, someone tried to make beer in the Emerald Forest!'

"Huh, that sounds kinda familiar." Jaune noted. He lifted his head from the table to reveal bloodshot eyes. "Wait, where am I?"

"The cafeteria."

"Oh, what?" He sat back in surprise. "Why?"

"Maybe this will serve as a reminder."

Weiss put his poster in his hands. He spent a few moments squinting at it.

"Uh huh, uh huh… Oh boy." Jaune seemed surprised, then understanding. "I 'did' organise a party, didn't I?"

"You couldn't remember?"

"Snow queen, I have the mother of all headaches. I'm pretty sure I got wasted."

"Yes, and so did almost everybody else who attended your bash." Weiss crossed her arms.

"Wait, including you? What happened to you?"

Weiss choked and turned beet red.

"Nothing! Nothing happened."

"Yup, totally smooth lie there, snow queen."

They sat in silence for a minute, trying to subside their hangovers.

'Who drew whiskers on my kitty cat!?' Ruby's shouts could still be heard for miles around.

Jaune sighed and looked towards the other end of the room, past the pile of garbage. The cafeteria was open, though no one manned it.

"You think they have kebabs here?" He asked.

"Do you think anyone will serve the student who is responsible for destroying the school in a single night?"

"It's not my fault! I'm not responsible for drunk Jaune, the guy's a moron! Seriously, have you seen the sober me?" He put a palm to his face.

"Can you remember anything that 'drunk Jaune' did last night?"

"Nope. How about drunk Weiss?"

"No. And that's rather a problem for me. I'd very much like to know."

Jaune tapped his chin several times.

"Looks like Ruby knows a few things."

"I don't think she's in an amicable mood."

"You know, making up words doesn't make you sound smarter."

Weiss rolled her eyes.

"It seems I was expecting too much from you."

"Why would you do that?"

Weiss conceded that this was a good question.

And so, her attempt to track down last night's events had already hit a roadblock. Even the organiser of the party had no clues to give. Putting a hand to her chin, Weiss deeply sighed.

"I'm already out of leads and it seems nobody can currently help me. Unfortunate."

"OBJECTION!"

They didn't know from where the voice originated, and Jaune yelped in surprise, both looking around the cafeteria.

From the pile of garbage bags, a short, orange haired figure shot out, and slammed her hands on the table.

"Nora-"

Nora, after mysteriously emerging from her hiding (Sleeping?) place, put a finger to Jaune's lips.

"This witness has vital testimony to offer!"

Weiss and Jaune would have been more surprised by the sudden appearance of Nora, but now that they were in the second year, it was difficult for her to surprise them.

The currently most striking feature about Nora was not the banana peel on her shoulder, but the bandages around her head.

"Nora, are you hurt?" Jaune inquired.

"Pfft, please, it's only head trauma and mild brain damage." Nora burst out laughing as though it were irrelevant. "I only lose tons of blood out of my injury every couple of hours, no biggie."

She dropped into a seat next to Weiss.

"I feel that it makes no difference to you." Weiss commented.

"Duh." Nora waved the point away. "But anyway, I remember something about you last night!"

"What?" Weiss and Jaune said in synchronisation.

"I remember. I remember like it was just yesterday…"

* * *

Nora lay on a gold, sophisticated couch, surrounded by suitors like an empress. A giant crumbled cookie hung in the sky, watching over the occupants of the area. Some people leaned on large pieces of broccoli, engaging in delightful banter about the wonderfulness of this soiree. She casually ate grapes as people lined up to speak with her. She was the centre of attention here in Foodland. Her first suitor was Ren, dressed sharply with a bundle of white liquorice. He knelt down, looking at her in panic.

"Nora, we need to leave. Leave with me, to a far, far away place."

"Never! Ren, I just can't! My heart is bound to another!"

"But Nora, I can't take care of you if you don't leave with me!"

"Enough Ren!" Nora melodramatically put an arm to her head. "Just leave without me! My true love awaits."

Ren, defeated, stood and placed the white liquorice on her couch.

"This night has been a disaster. Someone will take care of you, I'm sure."

"Good! Begone!" Nora leaned back and popped another grape in her mouth. Next to her, somebody knocked over a keg of soft drinks, which flowed into a moat to produce an overly sweetened river. The giant crumbled cookie in the sky was slowly moving as time passed.

As Ren walked away, someone else stepped forward. A tall blonde. Yang knelt down and took the roses.

"Why, Yang!" Nora exclaimed, and shot up into a seating position. "You came to see me, how wonderful!"

"Don't worry, Nora, everything's going to be alright now!"

For some reason, Yang started wrapping the liquorice around her head like a crown, but Nora didn't care.

"Yes, yes, Yang! If I'm with you, everything will be fine!" Nora pulled closer to Yang as the blonde finished applying the liquorice. Then, she felt a faint vibration. "Why, you even brought a special toy, I feel. You really thought of everything, Yang!"

"Nah, that's my scroll." To Nora's dismay, Yang stepped back and took a chocolate bar out of her jacket. "Hey, it's Weiss! I knew she'd call eventually."

"W-W-Wh-Weiss!?" Nora cried and flipped out of her couch. "Why, how, when!?"

Yang ignored Nora's ramblings and walked away, talking into the chocolate, but she could no longer be heard.

"Why have you forsaken me Yang!? Why!?"

A giant black cat picked up Nora, who had felt faint while her cries echoed into the night.

* * *

"Nora."

"S'up, Weissie?"

"When did you suffer your brain damage?"

"Last night, just before that story took place."

Weiss and Jaune threw their arms and groaned in frustration.

"That literally explains everything." Jaune had realised the futility of listening to this story at the mid-way point, and had returned with a pile of sandwiches he took from the kitchen.

"But that cat was really mean." Nora scratched her bandages. "It kept trying to drop me, but damn, did I cling on! Until it threw me into the trash. By the way, why can I taste pinecones?"

"Those were probably the grapes." Jaune answered for her.

They spent several minutes eating the sandwiches. Weiss was extremely tempted to discard Nora's story as a delusional, concussion-induced rambling, but the final part involving chocolate intrigued her. It seems that she had made a call to Yang last night. In which case, the call may have been recorded.

Weiss pushed the plate aside and took out her scroll, looking at her past calls.

In the process, Jaune and Nora had slyly moved behind her, looking down over each shoulder.

"Can I help you?" Weiss asked, annoyed, without even looking at them.

"Come on, give us the ice cream scoop." Nora poked her shoulder.

Was there a point in trying to hide this anymore? They wouldn't leave her alone until she told them. She doubted anymore harm could come to her dignity at this point.

"I woke up with Yang this morning. It was clear that we had sex."

With a gasp, Nora threw herself to the ground and grovelled.

"Why will nobody ship me and Yang!?" She cried, hitting the floor with a clenched fist. "It's not fair that the kitty cat and Weiss get all the good pairings!" She continued to uncontrollably wail for a short while.

Weiss and Jaune ignored Nora.

"Yeesh, Weiss." Jaune scratched the back of his head. "Looks like we've all got problems because of last night."

"Yes. Nice party." Weiss snidely said.

"Hey, hey, I'm pretty sure everyone had a good time last night." He readjusted his box. "And that's all that matters."

No, it wasn't all that mattered. However, Weiss wasn't going to start this debate now.

According to her scroll, she had sent several messages to Yang and made a single call.

"A bunch of message and a call to Yang?" Jaune noted. "Boy, you must have been desperate."

"Very funny. Those messages were before last night."

"Yeah? What were they about?"

Weiss remained silent, not willing to give details on her discussions with Yang. The single call intrigued her, as it was certainly made last night. A detail that Nora got correct. The entire call had been recorded, meaning that it was available for access right now.

Slowly, nervously, Weiss summoned her courage, each second passing bringing her a second closer to uncovering the secrets of last night, the secrets of how she and Yang ended up in the same bed, the secrets of how she wound up engaging in intercourse with such a beautiful woman. And now, with a single press of her finger, she would kickstart her memories into action, and find the valuable reminiscences of losing her virginity.

-ENTER PASSWORD-

Weiss flung her scroll across the canteen.

It spun through the air until making contact with a wall. She was not gifted with physical strength, and the scroll survived the journey, its red password screen still denying access to the recorded call.

"Bad luck, huh?" Jaune recovered from the sudden display.

"The call was saved, but my drunken-self hid it behind a password."

Nora jumped to her feet, having listened to every word.

"Your drunken-self is super smooth and secretive and kind of an asshole." Nora jabbed Weiss.

"I'm loathe to admit that you may be correct." Weiss had only scratched the surface of what she did last night, and between making a dog drink alcohol and angering two team mates, it seemed that the drink had turned her into somebody entirely different.

"It's like an alter ego," Nora started, pacing around Weiss and speaking like a narrator, "one that only comes forth under the influence of alcohol, one who shall bring forth terror unto all! And now, the true Weiss is forced to figure out the actions of her alter ego, Ssiew!"

"Ssiew?" Weiss had a bad feeling.

"That's right! Me, you and Jaune are gonna work together to figure out what happened last night!" Nora brought the half-naked boy and Weiss together. "And when we learn the secrets of Ssiew, I will assimilate her knowledge, and ask Yang if she's okay with open relationships!"

"I highly doubt it. And I'm not."

"I'll put you down as a maybe. The Norang will RISE!" Nora cackled maniacally while a small amount of blood seeped through her bandages, as a bolt of lightning struck in the distance.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2- 100% proof of fear**

' _No need to meet up. I just have a few things on my mind.'_

' _okay weissie. shoot'_

' _Lately, I've been afraid.'_

' _Afraid of what?'_

* * *

"Blaaaaake." Ruby prolonged the syllable longer than necessary.

At this moment, Ruby was the only one standing in RWBY's dormitory, repeatedly knocking the bathroom door. She had noted that Yang's bed was ripped of its covers, but she passed this off as another casualty of the incredibly messy room. Presently, the bathroom door was locked tight, with its occupant refusing to leave.

"Blake, it doesn't look bad, I promise." Ruby whined, having spent thirty minutes trying to coax Blake outside. "They're cute, really."

"These whiskers are silly, demeaning, childish, and cannot be washed off. I gave Weiss the permanent marker because I expected her to be the one person who 'wouldn't' be drunk." Blake's voice echoed.

"Don't worry, we can plot our revenge scheme later. But until then, we can spend the rest of the day in the dorm, just the two of us."

Blake waited a moment before responding.

"In the dorm?"

"Yup." Ruby exhaled, feeling that her persuasion was finally working.

"Just the two of us?"

"Yup."

"And no cameras or phones?"

"No one's gonna see but me."

The shuffling of feet accompanied the door being unlocked. Blake slowly stepped out, dressed in her sleepwear and without her bow as she had planned to spend the day alone, and may as well have done this in comfort. She had attempted to remove black whiskers with water, but only succeeded in smudging them and making her red, blushing cheeks wet.

"Fine." Blake mumbled, too embarrassed to look Ruby in the eye.

Ruby took a towel from the bathroom and held it in one hand, and holding Blake's hand with the other.

"Let's just forget all about last night's party," Ruby started, gently dabbing the towel against Blake's wet cheeks, "and pretend that we're the only two people in the whole world."

Blake waited until her face was dry, then lightly kissed Ruby.

"Okay. I'm not leaving this room until they come off, anyway. I could easily enjoy your company."

"Well, duh." Ruby threw the towel on the floor and picked up Blake like a newly-wed couple. She carried the Faunus to her bed and dunked her into it before jumping on top of Blake. "By the way, does this place smell funny to you?" Ruby sniffed.

Blake, lying on her back, sniffed as well. She deduced that the curious smell was coming from Yang's bed above them.

"Let's go on your bed." Blake said, now being the one to carry Ruby as she stood.

"Huh? Why?" Ruby innocently asked.

"So I can stop thinking of your sister."

"I… What?"

A few minutes later, Ruby was dressed in her pyjamas, intent on spending the day with her girlfriend. Lying on the leader's bed, Ruby cuddled against Blake, head against the side of her chest and an arm over her stomach. At some point, Ruby reached up and scratched Blake's exposed ears, eliciting a light purring noise that made the Faunus' chest rumble.

"Kitty, what did we do last night?" Ruby asked while enjoying the pleasant motion. "When the party was in full swing, I mean."

"Nothing as promiscuous as… others." Blake reverberated. "After you caught Weiss, Jaune and some others performing ethically questionable acts, Velvet let you sleep in her dormitory seeing as her team was passed out somewhere."

"Huh. Why don't I remember that last part?" Ruby stopped petting Blake.

"The supposedly non-alcoholic drinks you were drinking up to that point had been inadvertently spiked. That's why you felt so sleepy." Blake run a finger through Ruby's hair. "I helped Ren clean up some mess that might have gotten us in bigger trouble in the morning than had we not, and joined you."

"When did the kitty whiskers happen?"

"When Weiss made Nora hold me down after declaring that I would be much cuter this way."

"Aw, I can't be mad at Weiss if I agree with her." Ruby tapped Blake on the nose with a mischievous smile.

"Ruby…" Blake glanced away with her cheeks burning red, serving to highlight the black streaks.

"But I'm still super mad at her."

"What did you do with Zwei?" Blake asked after remembering one of the reasons for why Ruby spent this morning hunting Weiss with fury.

"I had to leave him professor Oobleck. Apparently, he's dealt with addiction before, and thinks he can help a dog come off alcohol." Each word carried more frustration than the last, and it was obvious that Ruby wanted to stop discussing anything involving Weiss or alcohol.

"He'll be fine." Blake placated, and grabbed Ruby by the waist. She twisted around and pulled Ruby under her, lying on top of the smaller girl at eye level. "On a lighter note, what are we going to do today, then?"

Ruby brought her hands around Blake's back, caressing her hair.

"The Ninjas of Love movie just came out on Wetflix, right? You'd know…"

"A, A romance movie?" Blake stammered with open eyes. "Why would I know anything about that series?"

"Oh, I've seen your books…"

Blake silenced her girlfriend with a tight, squeezing hug and nuzzle of her neck, bringing out an adorable giggle. She pecked Ruby on the cheek, continuing to apply her weight on the smaller girl, and they both enjoyed the closeness and warmth of each other's bodies.

"Alright, if 'you' want to see a trashy romance that badly, then stream it on 'your' account." Blake purred. Rolling her eyes, Ruby took a scroll from under her pillow.

This was all Ruby and Blake wanted today. No alcohol fuelled mischief from their classmates, no teachers asking them to explain what happened last night, no aftermaths that resulted in a reprimand. They had no hand in last night's events, and were going to wipe it off their slate as though it never happened. For now, they would just enjoy each other's company, Ruby in Blake's arms, and watch a soppy romance while wasting daylight without a care in the world.

The window shattered with a shocking racket as a flying object slammed into the roof.

* * *

Nora stood in her after-throw pose, having hurled a rock through RWBY's dormitory. The tail of her head bandages whipped in the wind as nearby trees rustled.

"Weiss, did that help!?" Nora cheerfully bounced.

Behind her, Weiss stood, palm to face, and Jaune scratched the back of his head in confusion, keeping up the box around his naked waist with a single hand. They gathered outside the block of dormitory rooms next to the courtyard, where the statue of various heroes could be seen.

"No, surprisingly, shattering my dormitory window did not awaken any sleeping memories."

"Welp, I tried, and that's all that matters." Nora put hands to hip with a large grin, as though she had accomplished great things with her actions.

"No, it's not all that- Never mind." Weiss was not going to have to an argument about what mattered when committing vandalism.

"HEY!" A loud voice screeched from the broken window. Ruby's head popped into view. "Why!? Last night is over! Stop destroying stuff!"

Weiss stepped forward on behalf of Nora, ready to console Ruby.

"Now, Ruby-"

"WEISS!" Ruby roared now that she could see the person rated highest on her most-hated list.

"Never mind, have a pleasant day!" Deciding that talking with Ruby would do more harm than good, Weiss grabbed Nora and Jaune and ran with such speed that she kicked up dirt in her wake.

Several minutes later, the trio stood in the lecture theatre, where Ozpin once delivered a speech on their first day of the academy, and yesterday delivered that same speech to all of the new students. Of course, if Ozpin knew that Jaune would organise a party, he may have amended his talk to reflect his no-alcohol policy.

The lecture theatre only held a handful of students and relatively little damage from the party. However, it was clear that it had been a host for antics at some point in time, with a window containing an imprint of a human being within its glass. The stage was still set up with its microphone against the floor, and they stood against the back wall, watching some students cleaning the building.

"Boy, she's gonna be mad later." Jaune said, leaning on the wall.

"Ten minutes of eating Blake's face will calm her down, I'm sure." Weiss quipped.

Jaune nervously fidgeted with his box, worried about it slipping down his legs.

"Why can't I find my pants?" Jaune yearned. "Did somebody steal them or something?"

"Who, pray tell, would want to steal a pair or your worn, worthless pants?"

"Listen, Jaune Arc's got a lotta fans…" Jaune shrugged with a proud grin that belied his silly appearance.

"That's it!" Nora loudly exclaimed, catching the attention of everybody in the lecture theatre. "In order to solve the mystery of Jaune's missing pants, we should just question Jaune's fan base! Problem solved!"

"No, not problem solved!" Weiss rapidly waved her hands. "Who cares about Jaune's pants? We're trying to figure out what happened last night. His apparel, or lack thereof, is his problem."

"Weiss so cold?" Nora pouted on Jaune's behalf, quoting Yang. "Alright, what your drunk alter ego did is slightly more important. Ssiew must be stopped!"

As several people left the theatre, others entered, some to help clean up, others to find their friends, but one person stood out. Velvet, in her brown and gold outfit, was unaccompanied, looking around while moving out of people's way. Unmistakable ears flopped over her head while trying to find someone or something.

"Yeah, she's right." Jaune paced around, hands behind his head in nonchalance. "When you think about it, I'm the only one here who's not got a big problem. Nora's got mild brain damage, Weiss got in bed with Yang, the teachers need to clean up Beacon, every first year is hungover. I guess you could say that drunk Jaune was just too smart to get in trouble." He clearly seemed pleased.

Velvet hopped over to them and kissed Jaune on the lips.

Jaune's eyes opened in shock while their lips locked in place. It lasted for several seconds, with Velvet putting an arm around his neck in the process. Weiss and Nora silently watched, mouths open and eyes set on Jaune. Finally, Velvet broke away, and placed her hands on his shoulders.

"Morning, Jaune!" Velvet happily chirped. "I just wanted to remind you about our date later. You remember where, right?"

"I, what, um, you…?" Jaune uncontrollably quivered while meeting her large eyes.

"Oh, silly, you and me are going out to Vale later!" Velvet bopped his nose. "Oh, and the outside world generally has a dress code, so please put some pants on before then."

"Well, wait, when did we…?" Jaune staggered back in a daze.

"When did we say we'd meet?" She giggled. "About five o clock, in front of the airship. Don't be late!"

"Heh, you, you know, I would _never_ do something _that_ stupid." Jaune exacerbated.

"I know you wouldn't. That restaurant is expensive, by the way."

"Yup, figures. Good job that a student like me _certainly_ has the money to pay for fancy food."

"Oh, and speaking of your blue pants, I think they're still in my dormitory, so I'll drop them off a little later."

"Right, because it _totally_ makes sense for them to be there…"

Besides them, Nora leaned closer to Weiss.

"Hey, Weiss? I think the way he's stretching his syllables means he's lying."

"Duly noted." Weiss flicked Nora's bandages off her shoulder.

Velvet hopped back, putting some distance between herself and Jaune. They were the only occupants of the stage, giving the impression that time was stopped in the awkward atmosphere, of which Velvet seemed oblivious.

"I need to go find my team. You better not stand me up, Jay-Jay, or somebody might suffer a slow, painful poisoning in the middle of the night!"

With a disturbingly sweet smile and a wave, Velvet skipped off the stage, humming a light melody.

Jaune, Weiss and Nora silently watched her leave, the blonde boy's mouth agape. A slight breeze entered through the broken window, flowing through their hair.

"Oh, snap. Velvet's on the brink of going into yandere mode." Nora commented.

Jaune paced back and forth, hands on his head, taking deep breaths.

"Oh no, oh no, this isn't good, this is bad, this is real bad…" He exhaled several times, trying to make sense of the scene. "I set up a date with Velvet, to a really expensive place, without even knowing it, and why, why, why…"

He sank to his knees while crying and mumbling incoherent sentences. Nora sat beside him, arm around his shoulder as Weiss shrugged, not truly understanding the situation.

"Jaune, this is hardly dire. I would have much preferred dating Yang as opposed to simply jumping into bed with her."

Nora punched Jaune's shoulder.

"Yeah, and Velvet's, like, a nine out of ten. If I wasn't strung up on Yang, then I'd be taking secret pictures of Velvet instead."

Jaune massaged his temple, trying to force his limited brain power into action. Was he trying to remember how this happened? Or was he trying to find a way out?

"See, it kinda doesn't matter how cute she is, 'cause this may or may not result in a huge problem." Jaune exhaled.

A shadow loomed over them.

"What problem is that, sweetheart?" Came a feminine voice.

All three looked at the source of the shadow, where a relatively tall, red haired girl stood.

"Pyrrha!" Jaune screamed and reeled backwards.

Pyrrha, in her combat outfit, looked down on her boyfriend with a curious expression.

"Are you okay?" She said with concern. "What were you saying about a huge problem?"

She knelt in front of Jaune as he prolonged a whine, trying to think of something to say. Pyrrha bore holes through him in anticipation, wondering what could possibly be so wrong that he screamed upon seeing her. Weiss and Nora stood back, now armed with the knowledge that Jaune and Pyrrha are an item, ready to run if Jaune let slip that he arranged a date with another girl.

"I'm fine!" Jaune jumped to his feet. "'Cause, you know, you're just so cute that not being totally dressed is a huge problem for me!"

"Huh." She did not sound convinced. "Then why aren't you getting dressed right now instead of complaining about it?"

"Because…" Jaune took a deep breath. "I was just helping Weiss with something. You know me, Jaune the problem solver, always gotta help others first."

Pyrrha stared at him with a straight face, unamused.

"As loathe as I am to say this about my boyfriend, you're a problem creator, Jaune. I'm sure Weiss is capable of solving her problems without you."

"I would that I could." Weiss murmured, not entirely fond of Jaune, but acknowledging that, as the host of the party, he could be helpful.

"And Weiss," Pyrrha continued, "I must apologise." She bowed.

"I'm sorry, what!?" Weiss was taken aback. "Somebody is apologising to _me_?"

Throughout the day, Weiss had been expecting to apologise to a myriad of people on behalf of Ssiew, so the fact that somebody had said this to her was something of an oddity.

"Yes. I feel that leading you down that road was a poor idea on my part, but not only that, as a first time drinker myself, I was unable to keep our alcohol consumption moderated." Pyrrha formally bowed. "Please forgive me."

"Um, sure. You're forgiven. For whatever you did." Weiss looked Pyrrha with semi-glazed eyes, feeling something poking at her memory.

"Thank you, Weiss." Pyrrha gave a sweet smile, one that was warmer that Velvet's own. "And, as far as I'm aware, nobody but me knows about your crush." She winked, like an old friend ensuring the safety of a secret.

Weiss' insides turned to ice, but her outward appearance gave nothing away. Something was coming back to her. She did speak to Pyrrha sometime last night and confided in her. The memory was just surfacing.

"But," Pyrrha turned back to Jaune, "as for you, you will not be hosting any parties ever again. Many students are in trouble through your desperate attempt to be 'that cool guy that everybody likes,' as you worded it. Thankfully, no first years lost their scholarship."

"Yes, ma'am, won't happen again, ma'am." Jaune slumped.

"Good." Pyrrha turned. "Now go get ready. I want my parents to meet the self-respecting and charming version of Jaune, not the one in front of me."

Pyrrha was walking away when Jaune's head shot up.

"Parents?" Jaune whispered.

"That's right. I've been building you up for an entire year, and we both agreed that it's time they finally met you."

"Oh, yeah, don't worry, I didn't forget." Jaune spoke with a tone that suggested he was actually telling the truth.

"Good. Now get dressed and we'll meet up in front of the airship at five o clock."

Pyrrha walked away, leaving a flabbergasted Jaune. The air felt colder and grey clouds were visible through the window, imposing on Jaune like an executioner on their victim.

"Five o clock. In front of the airship." He solemnly spoke.

"Hey." Nora said, starting to grasp the situation. "Isn't that when and where Velvet said she'd meet you?"

"I'm more concerned that there exists a self-respecting and charming version of Jaune." Weiss inaudibly muttered.

"Five o clock. In front of the airship." Jaune repeated, blankly gazing at the walls. "Five o clock. In front of the airship."

"Jaune? Are you okay?" Nora stood on her toes and bent around, trying to catch a glimpse of his face."

"I cancel with Velvet, she kills me." Jaune weighed his options, oblivious to Nora. "I don't cancel with Velvet, Pyrrha kills me. This… this isn't happening."

"Oof, it's a toughie. You can't date either of them if you're dead." Nora utilised her brain power to reach that conclusion.

"I'm gonna die tonight… I'm gonna die tonight. I'm gonna die TONIGHT!"

Screaming, Jaune teared through the lecture theatre, knocking over several people in his wake. His ghastly wailing resonated through off the walls, as everybody stared at the boy during his overly dramatic exit. Just as he left, the cardboard box around his waist fell on the concrete in front of the entrance, but he was too demented to notice, and a half-naked Jaune's screams could be heard near and far as he charged through Beacon, destination unknown.

Weiss considered that not knowing what embarrassing acts one performed on a drunken escapade may have been a better fate than being conscious when performing them. Therefore, she deemed that Jaune was actually in a far worse situation than herself right now, especially considering that many students were about to note his genital size and probably plaster it on the school message board. However, she was still determined to solve her own problems, no matter what they may result in during the present day. She could always take solace in knowing that she wasn't Jaune Arc.

"Eh, he'll be fine, our leader always knows what he's doing." Nora spoke with a drop in interest for her leader. In the background, they heard a feminine scream that belied this statement. "So, what's the plan, Holmes?"

"The plan is to stand still for a moment while I think."

"Huh. How does that result in me breaking things?" Nora played with her bandages.

The conversation with Pyrrha resulted in a memory prodding at the back of Weiss' mind. She had spoken to her prior to the party, spoken to her about something personal.

Then, she finally remembered.

* * *

Last night- Pre party.

In the canteen, tables had been cast aside, leaving the entire room surprisingly barren. On one end sat a single large table, stretching length ways, holding a wide variety of beverages. Non-alcoholic drinks were assigned a small corner, leaving alcohol as the dominant drink. The room was quite well polished, to the extent that a certain orange haired member of JNPR was repeatedly sliding on her knees in her idea of fun.

Weiss sat on her knees on a windowsill, staring out of the glass and into the orange sky. She seemed tiny in such a giant room, so much so that team JNPR failed to notice her immediately, odd considering that they were the ones who set up the room.

"Okay, team, huddle up!" Jaune's voice loudly echoed, reaching Weiss' ears.

Team JNPR assembled around him, Pyrrha and Ren less confident in their movements than the other members.

"Reporting for duty!" Nora saluted.

They put their arms around each other like a football team discussing strategies. Jaune leaned in, enthusiastic about the upcoming night.

"We've got team SSSN moving in fast and hard with the rest of the drinks from our anonymous source and some freshmen. CRDL should be closing in on the teachers, ready to distract them by getting detention and keeping them occupied for the next hour. That means we've only got sixty minutes to get the rest of the guests and start this party. By the time it's underway, the party'll be so wild that the teachers won't have enough staff on hand to try and stop us. It's perfect! It's infallible!"

"You've gone to some extreme lengths to make this party a success." Pyrrha said with a mixture of impressiveness and apprehension. "You would make frightening leeway with your combat ability if you dedicated this much effort towards it."

"Well, as a second year, it's my job to put on a show for all the new freshmen. I've gotta be that cool guy that everybody likes."

Pyrrha, as ever, showed no signs of being persuaded.

"It's alright, Pyrrha." Ren said. "Tomorrow, Jaune will go back to being the comic relief, I'm sure."

"Excellent point, Ren." Pyrrha perked in attitude after this realisation. "Jaune, I'll leave you to it. Don't be too hungover for tomorrow."

"Pfft, please." Jaune rolled his eyes. "Alright, time to go find some guests. Remember guys, this party's about having a good time, too. I mean, we're officially old enough to drink now."

JNPR dispersed. Nora slid on her knees all the way to the exit as Ren calmly followed her. Jaune counted up drinks and frantically made some more room. Orange sunlight pouring through the windows elicited a long shadow, the only indication that Weiss was in the room. Only Pyrrha took note of the solemn looking girl.

While Weiss idly fiddled with her thumbs, watching the sun set, she heard Pyrrha approaching, with loud, drumming footsteps signalling her arrival.

"Does Jaune not consider that while we may be old enough to drink, the freshmen will not be?" Weiss said.

The heiress shifted on her knees so that she no longer leaned on the window. Pyrrha climbed over a side-bound table, hopping on the surfaces to reach Weiss, and sat next to her.

"We can't expect perfection from Jaune. Honestly, I doubt that too many people will arrive tonight anyway." Pyrrha glanced out of the window, checking to see if Weiss was actually staring at something, or if she was just longingly looking to the sky. It appeared to be the latter.

"I'm not sure what you see in him. Each to their own, I suppose." Weiss tapped fingers against her knee cap, talking to try and subside her nervousness.

"Are you okay?" Pyrrha put a hand on Weiss' shoulder, trying to make the smaller girl look at her. "You seem unusually distant."

Weiss turned her head back to the room, but still avoided Pyrrha's gaze. However, her eyes were now visible; Weiss had cried recently. Faint streaks were apparent on her cheeks, starting from her watery eyes.

"I just needed some time alone." Weiss spoke as though nothing troubled her.

"Well, if you have a problem, burdening it alone is not a solution."

"I'm aware. My team is rather insistent on openness."

Pyrrha clasped Weiss' hand, in an effort to comfort her. Weiss may have wielded words with confidence, but something tore her apart from the inside, and she was secretly glad to have a consoling friend like Pyrrha.

"So, in other words," Pyrrha decoded, "your secret is something you don't want to tell your team."

"I, well, yes…" Weiss deeply breathed out, already losing the resolve to keep up her confidence. She had already poured out her emotions when nobody was looking, and now, she just wanted to let loose, and relieve herself of the burden.

"If you can't tell your team, then you can tell me." Pyrrha slid to Weiss' side. "I may be popular, but it's surprising how few friends I have, least of all friends who want to rely on me. Let me be a good friend, Weiss."

Weiss rested her head on Pyrrha.

"Yang is a fascinating person, isn't she?"

Pyrrha took a few seconds to respond, unsure from where this topic had spawned.

"Pardon?" She said in confusion.

"Yang is intriguing. Warm, funny, caring, and protective. Yet she's also loud, irritating, vulgar and loutish. I've spent an entire year living under the same roof as her, but it's only lately that I've started to examine her more closely, and the more I do so, the more afraid I become."

"What is making you afraid of her?"

"Yang's beautiful. She's fun to be around. Maybe I'll argue with her in constant back and forths, but they're only amusing verbal sparring matches. Sometimes she'll fawn over me to just to make me embarrassed, but I secretly don't mind. She might play fight with me in an effort to make me 'lighten up,' but I enjoy her affection."

"This is starting to sound more like an admission of love."

"I know. I'm too scared to dare admit that to Yang."

"Oh, Weiss…" Pyrrha propped Weiss against the window, letting their eyes meet. "Are you scared because you think that your current relationship with Yang will change?"

"Maybe. Could be." Weiss said with uncertainty. "I, I don't know. I don't have the courage. It's nothing complex, I simply lose my voice, my heart palpitates, I fidget and sweat, and I flee from the topic. It can't be helped."

"When was the last time you tried to engage with Yang?"

Weiss took her scroll out of a pocket.

"A short while ago. I thought that maybe talking to her over text messages would be easier."

"I'll assume it failed. You clearly haven't been crying because of test grades."

Pyrrha clambered from the windowsill and over the tables, leading Weiss with her. The heiress put her scroll away while they walked to the canteen's centre, Pyrrha holding her arm.

"Pyrrha, in a strange way, I admire that you were able to make a relationship work, even if it is with Jaune."

"It took a while to train him." Pyrrha spoke as though Jaune were her pet. "Now, what are you going to do?"

"That's a good question." Weiss shyly flicked her ponytail, looking at the floor.

"I think, for now, you should try and enjoy tonight as much as you can, Weiss. You can't keep torturing yourself over this."

"Enjoy tonight." Weiss repeated. "I suppose you have a point." They slowly strolled towards the end of the room. Jaune had disappeared when they were talking, leaving the table of drinks unattended. "Although, I've never attended an alcohol fuelled romp before. The idea never appealed to me."

"The idea of alcohol or a party?"

"Both."

They inspected the variety of drinks on offer. Neither recognised the labels or understood what 'proof' meant.

"By the way, is RWBY actually going to attend tonight?" Pyrrha asked.

"Yes. If I see Yang, I guess I'll just have to pretend that nothing is wrong."

Pyrrha picked up a bottle, inspecting its marker.

"What do you suppose '120 proof' means?"

Weiss leaned over her shoulder.

"No idea. Do we need to present evidence of something to drink it?"

"You know, I'm under the impression that Jaune didn't really know anything about alcohol either, as though he's just gathering drinks of every brand."

"I wouldn't put it past him."

Pyrrha spent some time looking at the same bottle, clearly thinking of something, but unsure if she should present her idea.

"Weiss."

"Yes?"

"You're issue is that you lack the courage, correct?"

Weiss tapped her foot on the ground, arms crossed.

"I think that's my problem."

Pyrrha contemplated some more.

"Weiss, have you ever heard of Dutch courage?"

"Pyrrha," Weiss saw the direction of this conversation, "what kind of sleazy, bumbling alcoholic do you take me for?" She asked, vastly unamused.

"Just hear me out." Pyrrha tried to make her case. "I'm not going to say that you should get drunk and talk to Yang, but you may feel a little numb to your fear. A small amount might help you."

"We don't know what a 'small amount' is, nor if there is a difference between all of these brands."

"Isn't all alcohol just the same thing?" Pyrrha pondered. "One glass of this," She held the bottle displaying 120 proof, "is probably the same as any other, right?"

"Probably. But… should I really try to drink the problem away?"

Pyrrha had quickly reconsidered, maybe feeling guilty about planting the idea in Weiss' head.

"You're right." Pyrrha conceded. "Just forget I mentioned the idea."

"No, it's alright. I know you only have the best intentions at heart."

Quietly, Weiss took the 120 proof bottle. Pyrrha watched her carefully, wondering if Weiss would go ahead with the idea.

"Weiss, will you?"

"How many repercussions could possibly come out of this? I'm sure one glass won't hurt." Weiss justified herself, feeling that this was not the worst plan ever presented to her.

Behind them, at the other end of canteen, team SSSN and the rest of JNPR arrived, along with several party guests. They were already quite loud, like the party was already underway.

"Weiss, I'll drink it as well. It's wouldn't be fair to remain dry after convincing you to remain otherwise."

Pyrrha presented a pair of shot glasses, sliding them on the table to Weiss. The heiress, continuing to convince herself that this was a good idea, poured the alcohol with unsteady hands. Clear liquid splashed against the glass' sides.

"Cheers, is what people say. Right?" Weiss lifted a glass.

"Right. Cheers."

They clinked their glasses and drank in one gulp.

Weiss promptly spluttered and spat, but managed to swallow the drink.

"Good God, what is this stuff!?

Pyrrha also had trouble swallowing it.

"That was far from what I expected." She put the glass down. "Now, shall we join the festivities?"

The festivities came to them, as the newcomers headed for the table.

* * *

Present

"What a stupid, Jaune-level idea."

Nora sat down on the stage, knees to her chest, and listened intently to Weiss' recital of her memory.

"What was that proof again?"

"120, I believe."

Nora burst into laughter, pointing at Weiss.

"No way could someone as small as you could handle that!"

Weiss scoffed.

"Excuse me for my bantam figure and lack of alcohol-related cognition."

"Weiss, why do you always make up words?" Nora pounced to her feet. "You probably drank way more than one shot glass of that stuff."

"Not that I can remember. What is the issue with the proof?"

"That's the amount of actual booze in the drink. Like, you know, ethanol."

"Huh? There can be varying amounts?" Weiss looked shocked.

"Duh."

"Then why do we call the collective stuff 'alcohol' if it can vary so drastically!? What a stupid paradigm!" Weiss waved her arms in annoyance.

Nora skipped around Weiss, bandages flapping with each movement.

"Ah well, what're you gonna do? Now we know why you got totally wasted last night."

"It was never my intention, nor Pyrrha's, I'm sure." Weiss muttered.

"Where do we go from here? Where did Jaune go from here? Why are we here, in this box room?" Nora leaned on Weiss.

"Now we know how the night started. I suppose we try and proceed chronologically. We'll check the canteen first, and see if any remnants hold clues." She did not immediately notice a drop of blood fall on her pristine clothing. "Something that strikes me as odd is how Jaune acquired such an array of drinks. I'll have to ask him next time… Nora?"

A trickle of blood dropped on the floor, and Nora fell along with it.

"You know Weissie, maybe I should have gotten my head wound stitched up at some point. What do you think?"

Nora's bandages were faintly covered red, only noticeable when Nora turned her head while floor-bound. Weiss sighed, and bent down.

"A good idea." She grabbed Nora by the arm and heaved her back up. "I'll take you to the nurse."

"Aw, thanks, Weiss." Nora leaned on her, though Weiss struggled with the weight. "You're a cool person. Get it? Cool? Tee hee…"

* * *

Weiss helped Nora across the courtyard. It had been under reparations for the entire morning, with the walls of Beacon polished clean and all of the vomit-stained water drained. They passed by the statue of heroes, the likes of which had been stripped of its strewn toilet paper.

All of a sudden, Nora felt lighter, as though her weight had been lifted. Weiss looked to her left, where a tall blonde was now propping up Nora.

"Y-Yang!" Weiss yelped.

Yang took Nora and flashed a smile at Weiss.

"So, how's your morning been?"

Nora became much more alert, and jumped into Yang's arm.

"Oh, just wonderful, Yang! We walked around, Jaune's gone crazy, Weiss thought of stuff…"

"Nora, go to sleep."

"Sure thing!"

Nora closed her eyes and leaned her head back, letting Yang carry her bridal-style.

Yang and Weiss said nothing to each other for a while, until they dropped Nora at the door of the medical office.

"I feel it's prudent of me to mention that Nora may have secret pictures of you." Weiss said as Yang left Nora slumped against the door and knocked on it.

"Jealous?" Yang pondered. "Nah, you couldn't be. You got a lot more than Nora ever could."

"God, you're insufferable."

A few minutes later, they occupied a grassy hill overlooking the Emerald Forest. Weiss sat first, with Yang dropping into a lying position directly next to her. Beacon cast a shadow over them, but this was to their benefit as the sun created a scorching atmosphere that Weiss generally found intolerable. At the top of the hill, they observed passing clouds with pleasant tranquillity.

"What've you been doing all morning, then?" Yang rudely poked Weiss. "Didn't break down in tears again, did you?"

"No, that moment passed when I woke up." Weiss pushed back thoughts of a naked Yang. "That just surprised me, that's all."

"You sure? I thought you were scared or something. Made me wanna give you a hug." As she said so, Yang swept up Weiss and brought her down as the heiress cried out. Yang tightly hugged her. "So, there, just in case you needed it."

"Me, afraid? Never. I don't need a hug." Weiss said, smiling. She loved Yang's ever warm and personal signs of affection. "I'll accept it, though."

Yang let go, and put Weiss down next to her so they lied parallel.

"Great. Like I said, take whatever you want to take from our little rendezvous. Hell, pretend we never had sex if you want. I'm not gonna treat you any differently." Some may interpret this as cold, but as Yang was the one who said it, it just meant she would continue being loud and playful towards Weiss. Weiss paused before responding, as she contemplated these words.

"I'll take that to heart." Although her heart was currently crammed with emotions. "Does anybody know?"

"Actually, I hung up those bloody bedsheets so everyone could see."

"Gah, what!?" Weiss squealed loud enough for Yang to flinch. "You ignoramus!"

Yang laughed, covering her mouth with an arm.

"I'm kidding! I just burnt them, it's quicker and Ruby and Blake won't see them in the laundry basket."

"Not funny…" Weiss turned and pouted, cheeks puffed out.

"Aw, c'mon, would I be that mean?" Yang slinked over Weiss' shoulder, who still faced away from her, arms crossed. "Okay, I'm gonna stop bringing up this morning."

"It's not really about this morning." Weiss murmured. "The whole scenario, even the whole concept of sex, is foreign to me, and it's not just because I can't remember them. I'm sorry Yang. I know you're only joking around, but I just can't see the humour." Weiss doubted that she would ever be comfortable with the topic of sex. Such intimacy and its consequences felt intimidating, even frightening, to her.

Yang spent some time looking down on Weiss. The blonde was hardly ever silent, and when she was, she would be plotting something mischievous. On this occasion, however, Yang carried an air of melancholy, like she had been struck by Weiss' words and regretted her own.

"You're right." Yang gently put a comforting hand on Weiss' shoulder. "Weiss, I don't ever want you to afraid or uncomfortable with me. I love teasing you, embarrassing you, playing around with you, but I swear, I care about you. If you're scared or sensitive about a topic, then I won't go there unless you want to talk about it. I'll do whatever it takes to make a close friend happy."

Weiss rolled around. Yang was sincerely smiling, inviting a second hug. She accepted, letting Yang affectionately wrap her in a strong embrace. Weiss may have been in opposition to blazing heat, but Yang's warmth felt amiable and encompassing, a tender warmth that only Yang could provide.

"Thank you, Yang."

Yang receded, but kept Weiss in her arms, close to her body. Weiss secretly loved being cuddled like this, being in such close proximity to Yang, feeling like she could fall asleep in perfect bliss.

"No probs. Got anything you wanna talk about while I'm all soppy and stuff?"

"Actually, I do." Weiss yawned. "Ignoring the specifics of what we did, do you remember the events of last night's party?"

"Just a couple of things. I'm sure you gave me a call at some point, but I can't find my scroll anywhere. I might have had a little too much to drink to remember anything."

Weiss recalled her own scroll. She already knew that she called Yang, as indicated by her history, but the recording was locked behind a password set by Ssiew.

"As expected. And?"

Yang stared into the sky, tilting her head in curiosity.

"I keep thinking about the word pageant."

"Pageant?"

"Yeah, I don't get it either, but hey, that's all I've got."

A drowsy Weiss closed her eyes.

"Fortunately, I've got my own leads. I'll just have to rely on them later…"

A smirking Yang looked at Weiss, who seemed on the brink of falling asleep.

"Later? Why not now?"

"Oh, you know, I'm somewhat occupied right now…"

"With using me as a pillow?"

"No, no… Yes."

"That just won't do, will it?"

Evil grin plastered on her face, Yang reared back and pushed Weiss down the hill. The heiress cried out on her descent, rolling uncontrollably with her limbs flailing before hitting the bottom. Yang followed, rolling down like a child and landing on top of Weiss, who coughed out a blade of grass and shook her head.

"Damn it, Yang!"

Yang hung over Weiss, refusing to let her leave yet.

"Hey, when you've got work to do, you better be on a roll."

"God, did you do that for the sake of a terrible pun?"

In spite of saying such, Weiss could not prevent bursting into laughter at the same time as Yang, as the blonde's demeanour always made her much more giggle-prone. Yang always melted away her colder side.

"Well, I've got a to-do list as well." Yang was about to shift off Weiss. "Are you absolutely sure you've got nothing to tell me?"

Yang might have noticed the hint of fear in Weiss' eye, or the slightly quieter tone she used to respond.

"No, nothing." Weiss lied as convincingly as possible.

"Alright, if you say so." Yang stood, and also hoisted up Weiss by the waist. "I'll see you later, 'cause there's no way the rest of the day'll go by without us seeing each other again."

Forgetting that they sleep in the same dormitory but implying that the day would lead them on intersecting paths, Yang patted Weiss on the back and walked away with a whistle. The girl in white with grass stains watched the girl she loved vanish, as the words she longed to say stuck in the back of her throat, her inexplicable and varied fears not letting them leave her mouth.


	3. Chapter 3- Whine Queen

Chapter 3- Whine Queen

A/N- I apologise for the lateness of this chapter. I'm now working with a new schedule that should help me to finish chapters quicker. However, things tend to sound better on paper before being put into practice.

* * *

 _'_ _Yang, I don't know what I'm afraid of. I can't describe what is holding me back.'_

 _'_ _holding you back from doing what?'_

 _'_ _Sharing what I am feeling. Yang, how do you go about your daily life so expressive of your emotions, wielding the courage to say what you want and get what you want?'_

 _'_ _I'll level with you. I'm not that brave. I have stuff on my chest that I'm too scared to let off, too. Whenever we talk, you keep reminding me of that.'_

* * *

After separating earlier, Weiss and Yang were actually meeting again, and much sooner than they thought.

An open stage was currently set up on the outskirts of Beacon, where the wind freely flowed, disturbing flowers and distressing flora. Its wide frame covered the edge of a large cliff, where the crackling crimson of the Forever Fall set the backdrop for whatever event would soon unfold on the unpacked stage. Accompanying an extensive and currently empty cream platform, which starkly contrasted against the beauty behind it, sat a pair of girders holding the entire structure together, having been planted into the cliff edge to ensure that no catastrophic collapses took place.

This stage sat almost two feet high, where a large group of students had gathered in front of it. No wall had been placed behind the stage, so anything on the platform would appear against both the beautiful blue sky and charming cherry woodland. Very few students would take time to appreciate the sheer splendour of the sight, Weiss being one of those students, and even fewer would actually come to this area at all, Weiss once again being of that miniscule group when she felt the need to sing. However, the vast array of students had assembled here for another, much more bizarre reason.

On both sides of the stage, large white gazebos had been put in place, though nobody could figure out what they were for or who occupied them. Occasionally, over the bustle of their loud conversations, some could hear different students cursing from these tents, but why or who left much to the imagination. What was going on? What was about to happen? Who are in those tents? Those questions ran through the audience's mind.

The sun hung over the area, allowing the massive audience to deduce that midday was upon them, and it would soon be time for lunch. But before they could dash to the cafeteria, even during its reparations from last night, they needed to see what all of these preparations were for.

Then Headmaster Ozpin arrived.

Many cheered as he strolled through the crowd, steps crunching grass and cane digging into mud with each step. At a glance, Ozpin appeared to be smirking from the corner of his mouth, suggesting that he would enjoy this event, but his mind worked in mysterious ways, and enjoyment was a rather subjective term.

Ozpin did not immediately mount the stage. Rather, as the audience clapped his arrival, he first walked toward a gazebo, and tapped the flapping entrance with his cane.

"Are you ready?" He plainly spoke into the gazebo's occupants.

"Yes…" Came one feminine voice.

"MY BODY IS READY!" Came a more flippant and excited girl's voice.

"No!" Shouted a voice more whiny in nature. "Sir, this is completely ridiculous! I refuse to leave this tent in this condition! Never!"

"Come on Weiss, this'll just last a minute…" The first, defeated sounding person spoke.

"Why are _you_ perfectly okay with this!? Remember, if I die of embarrassment, I'll not be doing it alone!"

Ozpin stepped away from the gazebo.

"Oh, for what they have done to my academy, death from embarrassment is the least they could offer me…" Ozpin uttered under a breath, darkly hiding his eyes in the lens flare of his glasses.

Now he approached the second gazebo, this time peeking his head through the entrance.

"Sir! Please, you gotta get me out of this!" This voice was male and almost as shrill as the one prior, but with much less venom.

"I think not." Ozpin responded. "I want you on that stage, and this is exactly what will happen."

"But I'm the only guy here!"

"Then the spotlight is all yours to behold. Make sure you pose for the cameras. After all, your first time wearing a dress went unrecorded."

Ozpin hummed a delightful tune while twirling his cane, relishing in sweet revenge. His academy lay in ruins, students hungover, teachers stressed as they attempted to clean the entire school after teenagers destroyed their offices in drunken bouts.

Were the students in these tents the only ones responsible for last night's travesty? No. Would they make excellent sacrifices on the road to restoring order in Beacon and attaining vengeance? Absolutely.

The Headmaster's cane resonated through the air as he ambled to a standing microphone, commanding a gravity that drew attention towards him on the centre of the stage.

"Girls and boys of Beacon Academy." He brought the microphone closer, staring out to the crowd among the background of his school. "As I told you all upon your arrival recently, here, you will be trained to fight monsters. Battling the forces of Grimm is no menial task and the severity of your future careers as huntresses and hunters is matched only by the seriousness with which you shall be taught in our arts and knowledge."

The students said nothing, hardly breathing while taking in Ozpin's words.

"However…" Ozpin continued in his captivating voice. "You would be mistaken in assuming that Beacon is purely about studying and training. Like any other school, Beacon is also a place that will be the setting of your most treasured and valued memories over your life. Here, you will discover yourself, forge powerful bonds with your friends, laugh and cry, gain invaluable life experiences, possibly even fall in love. This is your home for the next four years. Live in joy and open-mindedness, not fear and distress.

"And to demonstrate this principle and a newly implemented zero alcohol policy that I've suddenly decided to create, I am happy to announce Beacon's very first cross-dressing pageant."

The crowd burst into applaud, wildly whistling and exploding into over-the-top ovation. Ozpin slowly nodded and paced around the stage, detaching the microphone.

"It pleases me to see that many of you are excited for this prospect. The students you are about to see agreed to this of their own accord, although a small amount of manipulation may have occurred on my account. Alas, they have only themselves to blame for allowing themselves to show you that Beacon is certainly capable of fun and games."

The audience fell into chants of 'bring them out!' Their pleas could be heard all the way back in Beacon's buildings. Their headmaster stopped pacing, and directly faced them.

"Our first competitor may not be suave or smart, but her kind-hearted and goofy nature can rain moonlight on the souls of even the most dejected individuals. Give a sincere welcome for the vomit girl of yesteryear, Jaune Arc!"

Jaune sluggishly withdrew from a side tent.

As opposed to the blue dress from last year, Jaune wore a frilled yellow dress, coming down to his thigh and leaving just too little to the imagination. The dress became a lighter shade with each ruffle during the patterns' descent. A few men and women in the audience may have secretly enjoyed seeing his body against the skin hugging dress, along with his strong legs and thighs, but the delight quickly dissipated when they saw his face; Jaune had no experience with cosmetics, even when Pyrrha applied it herself each morning. Jaune had seemingly wielded a broadsword instead of a scalpel and coated his entire eyelids, lower eyes leading to the cheeks, and even his eyebrows in blue eyeliner.

"It truly brings out your eyes, Jaune." Ozpin mocked.

In the audience, some people cheered, others murmured, and a few could be heard.

'Man, after last night, I thought he was kind of cool. Guess not if he volunteered for this.'

'It goes on the contours, moron!'

'Aw hell, he's gone commando!'

Jaune, as dejected as the individuals he could apparently please, trotted to the stage and next to Ozpin.

"Th-Thank you, Sir…" Jaune groaned.

Ozpin slightly bent at the knees and put his microphone to Jaune's mouth.

"Now, Ms. Arc, I have heard rumours that you started a certain party last night. Did you enjoy yourself?"

Jaune took the mic. He miserably waited for a minute, looking at the stage floor to avoid everybody's gaze.

"The repercussions have sort of brought down my mood."

"What a shame." Ozpin stood straight, adjusting his glasses. "However, befitting someone associated with the moon, there is always a bright side."

"I fail to see it, Sir." Jaune murmured into the microphone as somebody jokingly whistled from the audience.

"You were capable of creating a widely enjoyed party for all of your fellow students." Ozpin turned to the crowd. "Did you all have a fun time?"

They all applauded as a sign of affirmation.

"Well…" Jaune scratched the back of his head.

"You see, Jaune? If nothing else, you now have a good reputation among your peers."

Jaune chuckled to himself.

"Y-Yeah, I guess I do, don't I?" He sighed in relief, and looked up with bright eyes. "It's not all bad news, huh?"

Then Ozpin darkly laughed under his breath.

"At least, you _did_ have a reputation." Ozpin brought a hand to his face, pushing his glasses up and barely covering his smirk.

"I did? What do you mean…?"

"You are standing here in a dress and poorly applied eyeliner because you signed up for this event. Who would do such a thing?"

Jaune did not move a single muscle in his face, blankly staring at Ozpin.

"Oh, boy…" The blonde mumbled.

"Indeed. There is a line between wearing clothes you feel are natural, and cross dressing purely to humiliate yourself. You are currently in the second boundary, there of your own accord. Is that something that someone deserving of a respected status would do?"

Jaune staggered back with a look of despair.

"No, no, you can't do this to me." He gasped. "I hosted an awesome party last night! People like me!"

"That was then, and this is now. Listen to the crowd."

Jaune heard the words of those below him.

'Ozpin's kinda right. Why _is_ Jaune doing this?'

'You know, now that Jaune's up on that stage, he sort of looks like a loser.'

'Don't you think that Jaune's just here for comic relief?'

Jaune sank to his knees, hands on his head.

"C-Comic relief? This isn't happening… I was trying to avoid that…"

"Indeed, Jaune." Ozpin turned his back on the boy. "The reputation you accrued last night has just been rendered irrelevant. You have returned to your comic relief status, where you have sat for the entirety of your time in Beacon. You do not have my condolences."

"NOOOO!" Jaune put his head between his legs and sobbed, as his cries resonated through the grounds of Beacon, hitting the floor with a shaking fist.

Ozpin left the boy where he lay, letting him writhe in despair.

One down, three to go.

"The next contestant competing for your affection is the chilling heir of the Schnee Corporation, one whose frozen heart has made him the poisoned apple of everybody's eye. I present to you, the ice king Weiss Schnee!"

At first, Weiss refused to emerge. Then, somebody picked her up and threw her out of the gazebo.

Weiss' clothes were nothing close to aristocratic. They were more akin to what one would see from her definition of a 'hoodlum.'

Weiss' hair had been tied up and hidden under a red cap, worn backwards of course, although it shifted with the abundance of hair. Even with a white, oversized hoodie, Weiss' small figure was still apparent, with the loose-fitting garment barely hanging on her shoulders and flapping at her knees. In exchange for her skirt, she now wore shapeless tracksuit trousers with blue stripes donning the sides. No piece of clothing properly fit her body, least of all the variety of silver chains dangling from her neck. She flaunted even more metal than the average pimp, or at least, as much as she imagined a pimp would wear from her own imagination.

Weiss trudged to the stage, constantly tripping over her own trousers.

'She threw elegance to the wind, huh?'

'What's with all the bling? I didn't know the Schnee Corporation had escort services. Does Weiss handle that division?'

'You call that an Ice King cosplay? She didn't even bother with a crown or beard.'

Now that Weiss had become the centre of attention, she stood in the middle of the stage. Ozpin knelt down so that he reached her level, and held the microphone towards her.

"Mr. Schnee, have you any words for the audience?"

Weiss snatched the tool and quickly spoke.

"I would like to point out that cross dressing for the purpose of humour could be construed as offensive towards the transgender community in its implication that cross dressing exists only for mockery. I have no intentions of making this form of statement even in this curious scenario of which we find ourselves, and please provide support to those coming to grips with their gender identity."

Weiss exhaled.

"No, I have no words. Just feelings of resentment."

Ozpin took back his microphone.

"I see. Would your sister and father have words for you if they saw you in this state?"

Weiss swiftly shot her head in Ozpin's direction, wide eyes brimming with fear.

"You, you better not-"

Ozpin snapped a shot of Weiss on his scroll, which he managed to retrieve with a sleight of hand. The photo in question captured her panic perfectly, with the red cap drifting over her head, eyes open, and mouth ajar as she made a panicked-

"-No! You monster!" Weiss screeched and steadied her cap.

"This should make an excellent addition to the Schnee family album." Ozpin twirled the scroll on his finger before pocketing it.

"You can't do this to me, Winter once mocked me for a week when I incorrectly pronounced floccinaucinihilipilification! If she sees something this humiliating, she'll laugh me out of her tea club, and we're just about to cover Snow Bud tea!"

Ozpin blatantly ignored her and turned to the audience.

"It has already been uploaded to my Chirper account."

"NOOOO!"

Weiss sank to her knees and mourned her status next to Jaune, her necklaces rattling against the floor.

Ozpin continued the 'contest.'

"Ignoring any and all first-world problems, let us proceed. Coming up third, we have a fiery young man, unabashed and bold in all he does, ready and willing to burn through the world with only his fists and a spunky, libidinous attitude. He's on a mission to turn your life to gold, it's Yang Xiao Long!"

Carrying an air of reluctance, and marginally wincing in pain with each step, Yang staggered out of the dressing tent.

In actuality, and arousing people's curiosity, Yang still looked fairly feminine in male clothing, in spite of being taller and well-built compared to most teenage girls. She had acquired a men's three piece suit, complete with a waistcoat and pinstripe trousers. It was by no means egregious in terms of ridiculousness, as it bore a close semblance to a woman's suit, but something about her appearance seemed odd.

Weiss carefully examined Yang in the same manner as how one would sneak glances at their crush, and she noticed the oddity as well. Only when Yang put an arm around her own flat chest did Weiss realise; Yang's breasts were being compressed with what was presumably a brace, hidden under the shirt.

'Damn, Yang is just the hottest person in Beacon no matter what.'

'I don't think she's wearing the brace right.'

Yang teetered to the stage, coming to a wounded stop next to Ozpin, gasping for air.

"Sir, I can't imagine that you've ever worn this before, but did you know that these braces actually kinda hurt?"

"Good." Ozpin sinisterly responded away from the microphone. "Now, what do you have to say to your fans in the audience?"

Yang breathed out as best she could and took the microphone.

"I, I didn't do anything wrong! I know my limits! It was just one drink, for a nice occasion, that's all, I know that one drink is enough to get me loaded! Problem is, I can't remember if that one drink was my first or fifth…"

Annoyed, and still holding an arm around her chest, Yang tossed the tool back at Ozpin and sat down next to Weiss.

At this moment, Weiss was starting to sweat heavily, the sun beating down on her. Weiss had never been able to handle exposure to heat and the sun, and this was no exception, particularly when wearing a hoodie and heavy chains that stressed her neck. Worst case scenarios in the past involved collapsing and spending weekends being sick through dehydration.

Despite her own discomfort in the sunlight, Weiss eyed Yang with curiosity, the blonde fidgeting constantly while sitting cross-legged. This may have been the first time that Weiss had ever seen her in distress.

"Yang, breasts are merely comprised of several tissues and a few lobes. How much pain could possibly result from wearing a brace?"

"You'll never understand, Cheeseboard." Yang responded in irritation.

Ozpin prepared the final entrant.

"Finally, we are in the presence of the boy with boundless cheer, the happy-go-lucky thunderbolt of leg breaking justice. Need I say more? Welcome to the stage, Nora Valkyrie!"

Nora burst out of the tent, gleefully skipping around the stage.

Rather impressively, Nora looked unrecognisable; mainly because she was wearing Ren's clothes and a black wig. Under Ren's tailcoat, nobody could tell that she had fairly large breasts, as she managed to keep them well hidden. In terms of figure, she was only a few inches shorter than Ren, but his clothing fit Nora well, hiding her body size. The black wig appeared to have a magenta stripe, albeit one scrawled on with a pink marker, and the ponytail flapped over her shoulder. The only identifiable difference that indicated it was Nora was the eye colour, as she failed to procure magenta contact lenses. Overall, the resemblance was uncanny, and many were confused.

'What, is that actually Nora?'

'If this version of Lie Ren wanted a date from me, they'd get it.'

'Where did she get a carbon copy of Ren's clothes?'

* * *

Ren stepped out of the shower, towel around his waist, having washed away the filth of last night. He felt exceedingly refreshed as a result, ready to waste away the hours for the rest of the weekend.

In the empty dormitory of JNPR, he approached the closet, where he stocked his clothes. Instinctively reaching in without looking, Ren expressed surprise as his hand grasped air. Instead, he found a note attached to a hanger.

'Gone cosplayin'.

-Nora.'

Ren scrunched the note in his hand and closed his eyes in a grimace.

* * *

Nora paraded across the stage's edge, acting nothing like Ren at all.

"I'm king of the cosplay, I'm king of the cosplay!" She sang a revised version of her catchphrase at the top of her lungs.

Ozpin tapped his nose in thought.

"You seem strangely enthusiastic."

Nora snatched the microphone, bouncing with joy.

"Who's the king again?" She called out.

'Nora, Nora, Nora!' She received the answer.

Whether or not Nora had misheard Ozpin when he forced them to attend a cross dressing pageant was open to debate considering her concussion, its bandages concealed under the wig, but either way, she had won hands down.

Ozpin did not appear pleased by the strides with which she enjoyed this event, as the other three sat defeated before him. However, victory could be a fickle mistress, so he would take pleasure in knowing that he was able to humiliate a small amount of the students from last night's party.

"Yes, indeed, we have established a reigning champion of this pageant." Ozpin struck his cane on the ground to silence the crowd. "I have no prize to offer, but it seems that Nora will be remembered as a guiding principle of sorts for all future contestants. Please, everybody give a round of applause to our winner."

Nora spun and gave a V for victory with a cheesy grin while she was lauded as the victor, though the other three couldn't help but see a Ren look-alike acting very out of character.

"Thanks everybody!" Nora waved her hands. "And all I had to do was let my best friend go naked for a while!"

Nora cheerfully dropped next to Yang.

With the sun blazing overhead, many students sweltered under the heat, least of all Weiss in her warm clothing. Yang, despite in an uncomfortable position already, let Weiss rest her head on a shoulder, the heiress lightly panting as sweat trickled down her face and her body started to stick to the heavy clothing.

Ozpin gathered the attention of everybody in the area. He commanded the stage, all eyes centred squarely upon him. As headmaster of Beacon, all felt a natural obligation to give him their devotion.

"Did you all enjoy this experience?"

'Hell yeah!' Several students shouted.

"Do you believe that Jaune, Weiss and Yang have been humiliated beyond belief?"

'Yeah!' Some more called out.

"Do you envy their position?"

'No way!'

Ozpin took off his glasses and retrieved a pouch.

"Of course you don't. However, they are in this position for a reason. You see, I wanted them to suffer this awkwardness, and I made it happen."

What was once a cheer of excitement slowly turned to confusion, as students made muddled utterances.

'Um, what did he just say?'

Ozpin slid his regular glasses into the pouch and put it away. From another pocket he took out a pair of shades.

"These students are a fraction of those responsible for the bedlam that enveloped Beacon last night." He polished the slick shades on his vest. "Alcohol an accomplice courtesy of Jaune Arc, they have destroyed entire rooms, ruined the lush greens near the Emerald Forest, and showed blatant disrespect to not only my staff, but to my rules, regulations and ethical codes that I have spent years enforcing.

"As of now, alcohol is banned on campus. What you have just witnessed is the least I can do in terms of punishment and humiliation. I suggest you do not test me."

As a final gesture, Ozpin donned the stylish shades.

"I'm the headmaster. Respect my academy."

He jumped off the stage, open jacket flapping in his descent. Terrified students cleared a landing space for him, and scattered to make a path. One student took off their blazer and put it over a patch of mud while Ozpin progressed, and he walked on it without a care. They all watched the surprisingly daunting man leave, perhaps to have meetings with people of questionable ethics or make others sleep with the fishes.

* * *

Several minutes passed since the end of the cross dressing pageant. Nora did not leave the stage immediately, and decided to spend some time conversing with the audience and trying to milk the attention for all of its worth. Jaune, contrarily, dashed back to his gazebo in order to change as soon as possible.

However, Yang had been burdened with a sudden concern; Weiss not only became heavier in her breathing, she was unable to stand of her own volition, and would have collapsed had Yang not caught her. The blonde found Weiss' pulse to be accelerated, and when she asked if Weiss was okay, although she knew the answer, she was met with an ill sounding and simple mumble of 'I feel sick.' Weiss' words sounded strangled, like she was trying to force back sickness. As a result, Yang picked up Weiss and carried her back to Beacon, as the gazebo they used to change attire had no cold drinks or ice available.

Having identified some symptoms of heat exhaustion, Yang took Weiss to the female changing and locker room in Beacon, which had been outfitted with air conditioning and a soft drink dispenser. A variety of lockers lined the cream room in an orderly fashion, leading up to a small lounge area with a pair of couches and tables for a team to relax in after an activity. There was only one entrance, covered on both sides by snack and drink dispensers, and no windows, granting occupants their privacy, but for now, Yang and Weiss were the only inhabitants.

Yang laid Weiss on a couch. Cool air drafted through the room.

"I'm sorry for the trouble…" Weiss' eyes were only half open. The earlier heat invited drowsiness.

"Pfft, no trouble." Yang took off Weiss' cap and ruffled her sweat-dampened hair. The normally pristine hair became frayed and lost its snow white shade, giving way to darker, greasier streaks. "Of course I'm gonna help someone in need. Especially if they're a cutie. Oh right, and, you know, a friend."

Yang unzipped Weiss' hoodie and opened it, exposing the smaller girl's upper body to the cool air. Weiss only wore a bra under her clothing, and if her face was not already red from the heat, she would have blushed.

"Yang, please…" Weiss glanced away with glossy eyes, as Yang disposed of the heavy necklaces and chains. Weiss' neck felt much less burdened and strained without the weight.

"Come on, what haven't I seen by now? Besides, I think you not getting a heatstroke is a bit more important."

For good measure, Yang rolled Weiss' tracksuit leggings to her knees and removed her shoes. She left the couch for a moment and purchased a soft drink from the vending machine. By the time she returned, Weiss' breathing had already returned to normal, though she still suffered from heavy sweating and seemed too tired to move.

Yang shifted Weiss into a sitting position against the armrest and put the drink in her hands.

"You're too kind, Yang."

"It's my M.O."

Yang sat on the other end of the couch as Weiss cracked the seal. She greedily drank and steadily replenished her lost fluids as the blonde crossed her legs and watched, waiting for her to finish.

"Feeling better?"

Weiss put the can down, already almost empty, and wearily tilting her head down.

"I'm just tired. This always happens. You don't have to stay now, I'll take a break here for a while."

"Don't worry," Yang put Weiss' legs on her lap, "I'll stay until you're better. I'm nice like that."

Weiss would be lying if she said that she did not feel vulnerable with her legs on Yang's lap, if only because she enjoyed teasing the heiress with an occasional tickle or poke. But in this instance, Weiss enjoyed the affection as she felt sick, and already knew that Yang would stay with her. Yang never made bad or boring company, a quality that Weiss found attractive in a person.

"Thank you." Weiss put her head back and into a cushion. Maybe it was because she lacked the energy to care, but she felt less awkwardness regarding showing her body in front of Yang. "I trust you won't make any sudden delicate motions?"

"Aw, you know me." Yang said with a smirk and a shrug. Then, she tickled the back of Weiss' legs without warning, eliciting a squeak and a weak effort to fight back. "Of course I will!"

"St-stop!" Weiss giggled, leaning forward and pitifully hitting Yang' shoulder as prickling sensations ran through her legs.

"Stop? But this is the only way I get to hear the cutest laugh ever." Yang mocked and wrapped her arms around Weiss' legs. She knew full well that Weiss at least chuckled when hearing her jokes, and just wanted a fake excuse to tickle the heiress.

"But, but I always laugh at your jokes, no matter how bad they are!" Weiss helplessly squirmed.

"Are you saying my jokes are bad?" Yang playfully brushed her fingers against Weiss' soles.

"No no, not that!" Weiss gasped in a mixture of squeals and laughter, trying to withdraw her feet.

"Damn straight." Yang pouted and ceased tickling.

Weiss fell into her lying position and let her legs bend in a heap back on Yang. Even after the sudden excitement, she felt a desire to close her eyes and sleep, but she also didn't want to miss valuable time with Yang.

"Honestly, you shouldn't spoil me with your attention, Yang." Weiss fibbed with a casual smile while looking up. "I never have much to offer you."

"Hey, you're my only source of pompous remarks and sweet tsundere adorableness."

"Yang, really…" Weiss shyly looked away. "My mere personality is not enough for all the care you give me."

With a large grin, Yang pulled Weiss by the legs and swept her into a trademark hug. Weiss refused to ruin the moment by informing Yang of her intense dizziness from the motion.

"I don't have an ulterior motive, and I don't want any rewards. You're my closest friend and the sweetest, most socially weird, and cutest non-relative I know. If you want to reward me for adoring you, then never change and never stop being my friend."

Weiss returned the hug, trying not to show that she may have very slightly teared up with elated joy. Yang was one of very few who could inspire such a reaction, striking at emotions that not many could reach. Weiss often thought of what made her fall in love with Yang, and this delightful sensation may just have been one of endless reasons.

"But…" Yang continued, talking into Weiss' ear. "There's a little something you can do for me right me."

"Anything." Weiss broke away and clumsily fell back.

Yang whipped around, facing away from Weiss while kneeling on the couch next to her legs. Weiss could see that Yang was unbuttoning her male blazer, and she quickly threw the outer garment to the floor. Then, she set to work on the waistcoat and shirt.

"Anything except whatever sexual favour you have in mind." Weiss corrected herself.

"Haven't we talked about sex enough?"

Yang tossed the shirt on the table and kept hold of the waistcoat. She was naked from the waist up, bar the brace that compressed her breasts.

"Weiss, unhook this God damn brace."

"Ah, er, right." Weiss cleared her throat.

She leaned forward and slid her fingers on the tough black strap, brushing past Yang's golden locks. The brace felt painfully tight, and hardly gave Weiss' fingers enough space to slip between itself and Yang's back. Weiss momentarily hesitated when she caught the scent of lavender while her fingers pressed against Yang's tender skin, but swiftly came to her senses and unhooked a pair of latches on the straps. Already shy about the situation, Weiss simply let the brace fall and retreated.

Yang groaned, the source of her suffering now gone, and she immediately pushed it away.

"Thanks." Yang deeply exhaled and gave a short cough. She took several breaths of relief, as though she had never felt such joy and comfort. "Stupid Ozpin…"

Yang was already putting on the waistcoat, aware of how silent Weiss had become. Without her breasts being constricted and without the shirt and blazer, the waistcoat exposed her lower torso, shoulders and arms.

Weiss was quietly lying back on the couch, staving off her flustered feelings as best as possible, when Yang dropped backwards, falling across her. Yang's soft hair itched Weiss' stomach, perhaps per her intention, while she partially lay sprawled over the smaller girl.

Yang draped Weiss' arms around her bare stomach, leading to the first instance in which Weiss had ever held Yang as opposed to vice-versa. Instead of feeling the sickness inducing heat of the sun that she normally experienced, Weiss was swathed in a pleasant warmth as their bodies were pressed against each other.

For a few minutes, they said nothing, just feeling each other's steady breathing. Weiss loved moments like these, when there was no need for words, just blissful comfort. Yang was an expert in providing these very moments, and knew how much Weiss enjoyed them. Over the year, they had found a knack for knowing what the other liked, resulting in a peace that they knew no one else could provide.

Weiss contemplated everything that just happened, as she felt Yang's breath on her hands. Yang had taken personal care of her when she could have just sent her to the medical office. Such a caring nature had never been experienced by Weiss leading up to becoming friends with Yang, and it baffled her that somebody so loving could exist. Every moment spent with Yang made Weiss develop a reciprocating feeling for her, but she felt ashamed that she could never give Yang what she gave to her. But, if Yang just wanted Weiss to be close, then Weiss could easily provide.

"Got anymore plans for the day?" Yang asked. "Just remember I can't bail you out of every near-collapse."

"When I was younger," Weiss settled her head on a cushion, "my father gave Winter the task of keeping me out of the sun. However, Winter being Winter, she had a tendency to 'forget,' often resulting in my weekends being spent over a toilet and with a glass of water because she found amusement in locking me outside on a summer day."

"Whenever you talk about her, she always sounds like a douche." Yang commented, the reverberations of her voice vibrating through Weiss.

"She's a surprisingly caring person, I swear." Weiss quickly responded. "She's akin to you with Ruby, just less thoughtful."

"Douchebag." Yang sang. Weiss' face scrunched in annoyance. "You're pouting right now, aren't you?"

"To answer your first question," Weiss stopped gritting her teeth before continuing, "I need to close my eyes for a while, lest I fall asleep doing something else."

"I think I'll join you." Yang yawned. "That was quite a morning."

"Join me?"

"Yeah, looks like you'll get that nap with me you were after." Yang squeezed Weiss' hands. "Lucky you."

"Lucky…" Weiss repeated. "It was bad luck with the headmaster and his dubious methods of punishment that led to this."

"Whatever." Yang kept Weiss' arms around her stomach and shifted off of her, so that they lay next to each other. "Just snuggle up and don't get any funny ideas."

Weiss did as instructed, though she had an issue with 'funny ideas.' Still, she cuddled Yang, letting her entwine their legs and bring them closer. Weiss' head rested on Yang's shoulder, close to her breasts.

"When would I get funny ideas? I'm not you."

"Thank God." Yang prompted Weiss to wonder what went through her mind right now. "Sleep tight, sweetie."

Overwrought with drowsiness, Weiss fell into a blissful sleep, comforted by Yang's presence. For just a short while, Weiss had everything she wanted, and hopefully, she gave Yang a small amount of joy in just being with her.

* * *

It only lasted an hour, but Weiss had never slept so peacefully. However, this peaceful slumber was interrupted by loud snoring, and she became aware of a constricting weight upon her body, tightly holding her barely covered body. It could only have been Yang.

If nothing else, Weiss felt much more refreshed and vigorous than earlier, when she contended with heat exhaustion. Also, being restrained by the sleeping beauty was by no means uncomfortable, though Yang knew her own strength even less when sleeping. During their nap, Yang ended up on top of Weiss, using her chest as a pillow and sliding her hands around Weiss' back, under the hoodie.

"Yang…" Weiss gently shook her by the shoulders.

"Wha…?" Yang grumpily responded, refusing to let go.

"You're asphyxiating me."

"Guess I'm still dreaming. That doesn't sound like a real word."

Weiss did nothing for a moment, though she gently ran a hand through Yang's soft, satiny hair, wary of tugging at it. No doubt pulling out a few strands would awaken Yang, albeit a Weiss-shaped hole would appear in the wall shortly after.

"Careful…" Yang mumbled, but allowed Weiss to continue. This was something of an honour for Weiss; she could think of nobody, not even Ruby, who was allowed to feel Yang's hair to this degree. Lustrous curls fell through her fingers while considering this, and wondering if the blonde let her do this just because they were friends, or because she trusted Weiss to a deep extent.

While caressing Yang's hair, Weiss' hand touched her bare, toned stomach, uncovered by the small waistcoat. Despite the numerous times in which Weiss had been tickled, she never checked to see if Yang was equally sensitive. A part of Weiss feared the repercussions, but as she felt Yang's smooth skin on her fingers, all the while their naked torsos were huddling against each other, she felt a deep desire to at least try and prickle Yang's side. Maybe she wasn't ticklish at all, and wouldn't even notice.

Swallowing, Weiss placed her hand on Yang's side, near her navel, and very softly bristled her nails against the supple skin.

The surprised blonde leapt to attention, eyes alert, and pinned Weiss down by her shoulders, who in turn gasped in shock to the sudden reflex.

"So, you wanna play, Weissie?" Yang merrily exclaimed. She trapped Weiss' legs with her own as she kneeled over her prey. "Why didn't you just say so?"

Yang cracked her knuckles before hovering her fingers over Weiss' exposed stomach.

"No, wait Yang, I didn't think you would be, I mean, uh…" Weiss desperately stammered as she squirmed, futilely trying to escape.

Yang draped her fingertips over Weiss' stomach, bringing out a high pitched laugh. Weiss wriggled under Yang, trying to push away her hands, but the blonde ghosted her fingers over Weiss' navel, barely applying force. The smaller girl jolted forward in an effort to curl into a defensive ball, though it was useless, and Yang tickled her bellybutton, provoking a cute laugh. With her other hand, Yang delicately itched Weiss' ribs, ensuring as much sensitivity as possible just to make her writhe in torment.

Weiss, gasping for breath, snatched Yang's wrists and tried to force her away. Yang was much stronger, and broke off Weiss' grab before leaning forward and sliding her fingers under Weiss' arms. There was no defence, and Weiss broke down into uncharacteristic squeaks and giggles while her underarms were tickled, sending paralysing and elated sensations through her body. The soft scratches against her bare skin drove her insane, and she had no prevention, as no matter how much she twisted to protect her ticklish body, she could never shake off Yang's relentlessness.

Yang paused for a second, lying on Weiss.

"I love hearing you laugh." Yang whispered.

A red faced and panting Weiss looked up at Yang, who glanced away with a sincere smile. Their heartbeats were rapid, but the single moment felt longer than it should have been for two regular friends. Yang must have known this to some extent; her warm breath felt shaky on Weiss' neck.

Unfortunately, the moment was shattered by somebody else.

"Cute moment? Second base? Weird fetish? Whatever it is, I'm down." A female intruder spoke.

Yang made no audible reaction, but she quickly dismounted from Weiss, rolling on her side. Weiss turned her rosy face into the couch, aware that they had been interrupted but too embarrassed to look at the trespasser.

"Hey, Nora." Yang sat up, like nothing out of the ordinary happened.

From the corner of her eye, Weiss could see a faux Lie Ren. Nora, still in Ren's clothing, sat in an armchair opposite. How long she sat there with her arms crossed just watching them remained a mystery. At close proximity, they noticed that Ren's clothes were actually bigger than they thought for the small woman, as the trouser legs extended past her feet and the sleeves, which were quite short already, went past her hands.

"So, is this just the foreplay?" Nora innocently asked. "Is it too late for me to join in?"

"Sorry Nora, we're just playing around." Yang stretched. "Non-sexually."

"Aw, and I was so ready for this." Nora pouted.

Explaining why Weiss and Yang were currently showing off so much skin would be more trouble than its worth. After all, if Yang said 'Weiss was hot,' Nora would respond with 'So am I!'

Yang clambered over Weiss and stood away from the couch. She hoisted Weiss to her feet by the waist. In the interim, Nora giggled.

"I kinda like your messy hair, Weiss." Nora complimented. "You should let it loose more often."

Previously soaked with sweat and muddled after her action with Yang, Weiss' hair became frayed and tangled with no regular elegance. She tried to smooth down the stray strands.

"Were you just talking to people after the pageant this whole time?" Weiss quickly zipped up her hoodie as she curled her toes in response to the cold floor.

"Yup. And I had to help Jaune get away from Velvet. He's prolly taken his head off like a chicken and running around. That's the expression, right?"

"Not exactly." Yang helped Weiss to drape her hair, putting it over her small shoulders. "By the way, Nora, how did you…?"

"How did I what, sugar?" Nora mischievously smiled.

Yang scratched her head, looking at Nora's flat chest.

"Your breasts. How did you do it when you're as equally… 'endowed' as me?"

"Oh, I've got my ways. One of them is called being hopped up on painkillers after going to the nurse a while ago. That stuff is awesome!"

"Ah, Nora was dosed up." Weiss concluded. "This is painting a curious implication considering that she's still wearing the brace."

"Yeah, Nora's not acting any differently than normal right now…" Yang added.

They decided it was best to not ponder on these facts anymore.

Yang put rest to the idea and started to walk through the room, heading for a locker a short distance away.

"Hey, Nora, did they take down the tents yet?" Yang asked, her voice echoing through the room..

"Yeah, the clothes you changed out of got put in the lost and found."

"Eh, I can't be bothered to walk all that way." Yang could not be seen behind a series of lockers running in a row in the centre of the room. Her waistcoat came flying into view, shortly followed by the smart trousers. Presumably, she was getting changed into clothes from her own locker. "Weiss, you got something to change into, or you wanna borrow something from me?"

"I have something, thank you, I prefer at least a small amount of class in the clothes I wear."

A show flew over the lockers and bonked Weiss on the head.

As Weiss walked by, Nora tiptoed around and tried to peek past the row of lockers to look at Yang while she changed. Weiss grabbed her by the collar first and pulled her back while proceeding. Ren's clothes trailed along the ground while being yanked.

Weiss opened her locker and ripped off the hoodie while Nora twiddled her thumbs. Weiss hardly cared about changing in front of Nora, maybe having gained some courage with exposing herself to Yang on two separate occasions today already. Then again, having Nora's eyes on her felt far less embarrassing by comparison.

It took a minute for Weiss to change into her alternate outfit, aptly named Snow Pea, the white and black frilled dress coming to her thigh. She casually left the other horrendous clothing on the floor, letting somebody else take care of it as though Weiss had never seen the blasted thing before. She continued to hang her muddled hair over her shoulders. In an odd manner, Weiss believed that her greasy, nearly miscoloured hair complimented the dress' prevalent shades of black and white.

In the process of changing, Weiss found her scroll, which she previously shoved into the hoodie. Every time she looked at the gadget, Weiss was reminded of the call she supposedly made to Yang last night, the call made inaccessible through a password set by her drunken self. How much longer until she found another memory? She desperately wanted to remember the password, and discover what she said to Yang, while she was under the effect of 'Dutch courage.' What could Weiss have possibly said to Yang that led to sex?

Yang appeared soon after, dressed in her Hunter outfit, lilac fabric hanging from her waist. Weiss refused to admit that these clothes were a nice fit for Yang.

Before they could speak, there was a knock on the door.

"Is anyone in there?" A voice came through, belonging to Jaune.

"Jaune?" Yang answered. "What are you doing here?"

Without asking if everyone was fully clothed, Jaune barged through the door and slammed it shut. He had returned to his regular outfit, though the eyeliner was still smudged on his face.

As Jaune stood, leaning his back on the door, he had a panicked and desperate look, eyes darting around the room. Weiss felt that there was something unusual about his appearance, but it took a moment to figure out what. It was not the smeared eyeliner, but the fact that he was wearing pants at all. He had reacquired them at some point. Yet, Weiss had no time to think on this anymore, as Jaune started moving towards them.

"I gotta hide, and I gotta hide now. She won't expect me to hide in a girl's locker room."

Jaune scrambled by Yang and dived over the couch. As he did so, they caught a whiff of sweat, like he had been running for the past hour. Although he hid behind the seating arrangement, the scent was still strong.

"Aw, the nice bunny girl's still after you." Nora announced, leaning over his hiding space, sleeves adorning the edge.

"Quite believably." Weiss continued, arms crossed and tapping a boot on the floor. "Why don't you just inform her of your current relationship with Pyrrha?"

"'Cause I'm too freakin' scared of what Velvet might do if I have to turn her down." He plainly said while poking his head over the couch.

They heard a female voice calling outside of the room.

"Jaune…! Are you in here…?"

"I'm not here." Jaune whispered at his friends, then lied behind the couch.

Velvet hopped into the room, arms behind her back and ears taut. Her large brown eyes were unusually narrow, similar to Blake's feline eyes, like a hunter stalking their prey.

"Oh, hi everyone!" Velvet warmly waved with a smile. "Did Jaune come in here?"

"No." The trio responded at once.

"I see." Velvet tilted her head. "He said he wanted to spend some time with you three."

"He did?" Weiss sounded dubious.

"Right. His exact words were 'I'd seriously prefer to be with the bitchiest, craziest, and most vulgar people in Beacon than be with you right now.'"

"Bitchiest?" Weiss stammered.

"Vulgar?" Yang sternly followed up.

"Yes, I'm the craziest!" Nora celebrated and gave a fist bump to herself, cushioned by Ren's sleeves.

Weiss and Yang calmly walked behind the couch. Both were straight faced in a quiet yet angered manner.

"Weiss, would you look at this?" Yang put arms to hips, looking down.

"It would seem that Jaune has suddenly materialised behind this couch." Weiss kept her arms crossed and nodded.

"Looks like it's Vel's lucky day."

They both grabbed one of Jaune's ears and yanked him over the couch.

"I didn't say that, I swear, I've got no idea what she's talking about! Ow, ow, stop!"

If Velvet made up those degrading words, then she proved herself to be a masterful manipulator. Unfortunately, Weiss and Yang did not particularly care, and lobbed Jaune at her feet. He scuffled along the ground and climbed to the perpendicular.

"Uh, hey Velvet."

"Silly Jaune." Velvet flicked his nose. "Were you trying to hide from me?" She carried a sickly sweet yet venomous edge to her voice.

"Hide? Nah, no, course not, I'm just…" Jaune had to slightly lean back as Velvet closed in on him.

"Because I'm starting to think that you don't want to be seen with me. Is that it, Jaune?" Abruptly, she sounded darker, and she bowed so that her eyes were hidden under her hair, but never lost the uneasy smile.

"Woah, take it easy." Jaune almost screamed in fear. "It's just that because we're going on a date later, uh, I don't want to see you right now, um, because, er, that would… spoil the date… because I saw you so much during the day…?"

He sounded so uncertain in his lie, and his expression became so fearful, that everybody thought Velvet would dismiss his lie in an instant. She most likely did not believe him.

"Okay, I believe you!" Velvet hopped on the spot with a lighter expression that changed as quickly as her last.

"You do?" Weiss, Yang and Nora asked at once.

Before Velvet could answer them, yet another newcomer could be heard from outside the locker room.

The new outsider's voice was stronger in tone and very self-assured.

"Weiss? Are you in here?" A knock on the door accompanied their voice.

"Crap!" Jaune yelped. "It's Pyrrha! Crap crap crap!"

He scuttled back and forth in a panic as Velvet cocked her head in curiosity.

"It's Pyrrha? Why don't we welcome her in?" Velvet suggested with a devious smile.

"This oughta be good." Yang commented with glee.

"I concur," Weiss quickly responded, "I'm in here, Pyrrha!"

The other three girls stood back, believing that they would find great amusement in the upcoming interaction between Jaune, Velvet and Pyrrha.

The door slowly opened.

Jaune picked up Velvet and threw her into Weiss' locker, slamming the container shut.

Pyrrha walked into the room as Jaune threw himself on the locker, keeping it closed with his back while Velvet banged the door from the inside.

"Weiss, I have something to tell-" Pyrrha's eyes set on Jaune. "Jaune?"

Pyrrha stared at her sweating and panicked boyfriend with a slightly unamused countenance, one eyebrow raised. She leaned on her left leg and put a hand to her hip.

Jaune gulped while breathing heavily, though he forced his most convincing smile.

"Hey sweetheart!"

"Why, pray tell, are you in the girl's locker room with Weiss, Yang and Nora?"

The locker containing Velvet banged again.

"AH, WELL, you know," Jaune raised his voice as loud as possible to try and cover up the banging noises, "I'm just… helping them with stuff."

"What stuff?"

Jaune fired a glance at the others, his eyes brimming with the desire for aid.

Weiss rolled her eyes. Though she was not exactly a part of Jaune's fan club, she would feel bad for Pyrrha if her relationship came to an end, after everything the redhead did for her out of good intentions. Pyrrha did not deserve to be hurt because of Jaune's blatant stupidity, and to that end, Weiss decided to help Jaune.

"Pyrrha, Jaune is assisting me with the hinges of my locker's door. Yang and Nora couldn't make a stable silence, let alone a stable door."

"Right…" Pyrrha sounded utterly unconvinced. "So, why is your broken door making a loud noise?"

On second thought, though Weiss fancied herself an intellectual, she was far from a smart liar.

"That…" Weiss tapped her chin. "…is precisely why your boyfriend is examining it right now."

"That's right!" Jaune exclaimed. "So, I'm just gonna check it now."

Jaune swung open the locker door. It unfolded in Pyrrha's direction, so that she could not see inside. Everybody else gathered round looked into the locker, where Velvet stood in the cramped confines with her ears flattened against the roof.

She held up a piece of paper with writing.

' _I could make her disappear._

 _Permanently._

 _XD'_

Everybody stared at the smiling Faunus.

"Okay Jauney-boy, I think we figured out what the problem is." Yang drummed her fingers against the door.

"Yeah." Jaune blankly said. "Pretty interesting dilemma we've got here."

"Huh? But the door's fine." Nora pondered, never entirely on point with everybody else.

Jaune closed the door, and they all prayed that Velvet would stop making noise.

"Anyway," Jaune sighed, "I guess I'll figure out a way to deal with this locker."

Pyrrha drummed her foot against the floor. She was far from impressed.

"Jaune, Weiss, Yang, Nora, I trust all of you unequivocally. Therefore, I won't ask the real reason for why you're all huddled in this room."

A twinge of guilt shot through Weiss in that instance, and hopefully through Jaune as well. Pyrrha had nothing but kindness for others, and Weiss was forced to repay her with deception as she helped Jaune.

"Don't worry, Pyrrha." Weiss tried to console her. "It's nothing serious."

"Then I won't dwell on it." Pyrrha put a hand to her chest.

Everybody else in the room exhaled at once, as though they had not been conspicuous enough already.

"Now, Weiss, I have something to tell you." Pyrrha calmly returned to the reason she entered the room. She cast an eye over Yang, then amended her statement. "In private."

"Of course. Shall we?"

Pyrrha led Weiss to a secluded corner of corners, away from the others.

From the centre of the room, they heard a loud crash, shortly followed by the door of the locker room fly open.

Pyrrha eyed Weiss in response to the noises.

"I suppose you know what just happened?"

"In a sense." Weiss imagined that they carted Velvet elsewhere. "So, what did you want to tell me?"

Pyrrha closed on Weiss, ensuring they were not overheard.

"I know I promised that I wouldn't tell anybody about your attraction to Yang…"

Weiss immediately knew where this conversation was headed. If Myrtenaster was in her possession, Pyrrha would be under severe threat right now.

"Who did you tell?" Weiss fiercely spouted.

"I promise you." Pyrrha put her hands on Weiss' shoulders. "I believe I did the right thing."

"That's a rather subjective phrase."

"Regardless, when I told her about your predicament, she burst out laughing, then said she would be here soon with a preview of your next tea. I'm sure that means more to you than it does to me."

Weiss' did not swear, a custom drilled into her by the very person Pyrrha referenced. Even so, ominous feelings rose within her, both of dread and anticipation.

"Okay." Weiss swallowed. She wanted to say more, but her mind refused to conjure words. She could not help but wonder what sort of exchange she would soon have.

"Okay…?" Pyrrha anxiously confirmed. "Are you angry with me?"

"No, I'm not angry. Let's just, let's move on." Weiss swiftly changed the topic, still with a flicker of doubt in her eye.

"As you wish." A baffled Pyrrha shrugged. "Have you spent time with Yang today?"

They both started to walk towards the exit. By now, everybody had left, leaving the room eerily quiet.

"Oh, a small amount of time…" Weiss would rather not comment on the activities they performed earlier.

"Do you feel any more comfortable around her?"

"Being comfortable around Yang was never an issue." Although Weiss was not going to admit that she was nervous about Yang exposing most of her body, nor actually tell anybody about it. "Neither is talking to her. But baring your emotions to someone carries with it a surprising amount of irritation."

"Then I feel a bit better about requesting some assistance for you."

They walked out of the locker room.

"By the way, Weiss, you make an interesting pimp."

* * *

In the courtyard, Jaune, Yang, Nora and Velvet had made a grand escape. They stood in front of the freshly-cleaned statue of heroes, where the sunlight gave it a glorious sparkle. At one end of the side lakes, professor Port was busy fishing for beer bottles in the continuing effort to improve Beacon's hygiene condition.

Weiss imagined that the group took Velvet outside in order to get her away from Pyrrha. In fact, meeting up with them again may have been a mistake.

Weiss and Pyrrha approached them from behind. As soon as the pair was heard, their friends jumped and formed a barrier around Velvet to try and hide her. This barrier was belied by her ears flopping over Nora's wig.

"Jaune," Pyrrha started, "I think it's prudent for me to tell you that you still have makeup of some kind smeared on your face. And Nora, Ren is getting cold."

"Poor guy." Nora put a finger to her chin, flicking aside strands from her black wig. "If only I could help him somehow." They all knew that giving him back his clothes would be a start.

Jaune pulled up his shirt and clumsily dabbed his face.

"Pyrrha, you know, I've always loved that awesome perception. You're just so smart-"

"Jaune, I'm going to pre-emptively stop your random flattery because I'm uninterested in whatever foul deed you've done that requires you to please me as repentance. I'm sure it's not as bad as you mistaking my lipstick for a new-fangled lollipop."

Of course, Weiss thought, if Pyrrha actually knew that Jaune had arranged a date with Velvet later, she would retract that statement.

Velvet hopped around the trio, and everybody froze.

"Hi, Pyrrha!"

"Hi, Velvet." Pyrrha politely responded, though she was disinterested in starting a conversation. "I'm going to get ready for me and Jaune to meet my parents later, so I'm sorry I can't talk."

"It's fine. I'm pretty busy with someone later, too."

"Have fun."

Pyrrha gave a single wave and departed, patting Weiss on the back as she left.

Jaune's girlfriend disappeared into the building of dormitories when the boy sank to his knees and cried in abstract respite.

"I survive another hour…" Jaune panted.

"Quite unbelievably." Weiss added. For some reason, she kept thinking of the words 'have fun,' like she had heard them somewhere.

Velvet happily spoke with Jaune, snatching his attention.

They were exchanging words when Yang slinked over to Weiss, standing side by side. Right now, neither girls heard what they were saying, as Yang lightly pressed an object into Weiss' hand.

The heiress looked at a parasol, shaded white. She opened it, revealing a snowflake logo emblazoned on the top.

"It was in your locker." Yang casually explained. "Thought you'd want it if you're gonna spend the day outside."

Weiss was impressed that Yang had the foresight to give her protection from the sun, especially considering that Weiss completely forgot.

"Thank you, Yang."

"It's nothing, I just want you to stay safe." Yang shrugged. "I'm taking off. Gonna go make sure Ruby and Blake aren't doing anything loose and free in our dorm."

Weiss used her parasol with both hands and shielded herself from the sun. It suited her refined appearance, accentuating her resemblance to the upper class. Always hold it with both hands, and let the stick portion rest on your shoulder, as her sister taught.

"Will you make a passing and amusing reference to the fact that we already did?"

"Too easy. Give me some credit, being funny is hard."

Yang bowed and pecked Weiss on the cheek, then left.

Weiss watched Yang out of the corner of her eye, touching her cheek. It annoyed her that Yang could be so suggestive, yet be so carefree that her intentions were never decipherable.

Jaune's voice reminded her that she was not alone, and that other people had issues to resolve.

"Velvet, please, Pyrrha doesn't need to 'disappear!'"

"But wouldn't it be difficult for you to date me behind her back? That's my opinion, anyways. Each to their own, I guess."

"You're right on one thing, it's pretty difficult to for me to do something as stupid as cheating."

Velvet leaned in and let her fringe cover her eyes.

"Jaune, you're cute, kind and funny. You're also harem bait of the highest quality, the kind that some sociopaths will obsess over. You will go out with me. And if you should consider declining, keep in mind that I know over six hundred methods of administering pain. I'm an exceptional huntress of both Grimm and people."

A terrified Jaune staggered backwards.

"Heh heh, that's a good one…"

Velvet hopped back into her cheerful persona, clasping her hands together.

"Let's not talk about unbearable anguish that will psychologically torture you, okay? I only wanted to check if your pants were okay."

Now that Velvet mentioned it, Weiss recalled that she noted Jaune's lower clothing earlier. A particular mystery of the morning was that they were missing, until it was discovered that they were kept in Velvet's dormitory for some reason. Now, he wore them, presumably because Velvet gave them back to him.

"Oh, uh, they're just fine." Jaune decided that playing along with her kindness was the best way to not get killed.

Despite him saying his pants were in good condition, there was a large rip along his left leg.

"Looks like you might need some new ones." Velvet bowed down and looked at the rip. "I'd offer to sew them for you, but I'm only good at voodoo dolls."

"You would be." Jaune nonchalantly patted down his legs and looked away.

Weiss twirled her parasol between her palms, deep in thought. The tear in Jaune's pants tugged at her mind. She had certainly seen it before. Yes, she knew how that rip came about. Last night, Jaune caught the hem on a window.

It happened when the party was fully underway.

"I'm leaving, then." Velvet had carried on the conversation without Weiss noticing. "Don't be late, Jaune! Five o clock, on the air pad."

"Wouldn't dream of it…"

Velvet skipped into the distance, humming a tune.

Jaune watched her, and with each step she took, his expression became more and more grave. Finally, he broke down into tears, wailing like a child.

"I've got four hours to live!" He cried.

Nora skated next to Weiss, kicking up dust and her trouser legs. She brushed aside the black wig and whispered into Weiss' ear.

"Weiss, do you wanna bet on who kills Jaune first?"

"Why?"

"Might as well try and make some money out of it…" Nora giggled.

"Then I say Pyrrha."

"Interesting answer. The girlfriend who knows nothing of his lechery yet. Will she burst with fury when she finds out? Time will tell." Nora pondered out loud, skipping around Jaune.

"I'm glad my pain amuses you." Jaune griped. "…I'll say Pyrrha will kill me first, too."

"Then I'll go with Velvet, and I bet her method will be a red hot poker in your anus. Wouldn't that be funny!?" Nora laughed in delight.

"Now that we've established that," Weiss elegantly sat on the rim of the statue, resting the handle of the parasol on her knee, "I feel I should mention that Jaune's aesthetical issues have struck at a memory of mine."

Jaune clambered out of his depressed state to sit next to her, as Nora kneeled in front of them, kicking aside her overly long trouser legs.

* * *

 **Last night- Currently, two people have thrown up.**

Loud music blared through the cafeteria, engulfing the room in a thick, alcohol fuelled atmosphere. Some lights had been switched off, but moonlight streamed in through the windows, dousing the room in a silver glaze, contradicted by the countless students draped in their own unique colours.

"Hey, what's this track called?" A girl called Coco called out to her team mate, Fox, who manned a large boombox. She stumbled forward in the process, carrying a bottle of beer.

"Die!" Fox shouted back.

In sheer anger, Coco threw her beer bottle to the floor.

"What did you just say to me!?"

"I said, Die!" Fox stood from his seat and pushed the boombox aside. He may have been just as drunk. "Did you hear that!?"

"Oh, I heard you just fine!"

Coco and Fox broke out into a fistfight, and people cleared a space around them. Not many actually paid interest to the brawl.

Weiss was leaning back on a table near the side of the room when Fox flew overhead with a cry. She did not acknowledge him, not Coco when she jumped after him. Currently, Weiss simply sat alone, tapping her knees while whistling along to the music. She sat in a curious limbo between bored and hyperactive, as despite being in an active environment, nobody engaged with her. Never had Weiss felt a need to keenly interact with others, but she also liked just staying still and looking at all of the pretty colours on display.

"Weiss." A plain voice spoke to her.

Smiling as wide as possible, Weiss leapt up and threw herself at the voice's source without confirming their identity.

She ended up hugging Blake, who grappled her back in surprise.

"Blake, oh, Blake, do you know how cute you are?" Weiss giggled and flicked her nose. "Ruby's a lucky girl, you know?"

"Weiss? Are you feeling okay?" Blake put distance between them.

"How dare you accuse me of drinking!" Weiss suddenly jabbed Blake's chest, in spite of her making no such accusation. "I haven't drank alcohol! I've just been drinking whatever was in that bottle!"

Weiss pointed at a large bottle of what once contained wine, parked next to her sitting location.

"…Good for you, Weiss." Blake looked back at her. "It seems you might pass out soon, so I'll feel safe if I give this to you. It belongs to Ruby, but I can't find her right now, and I'm worried about being ambushed by ne'er-do-wells."

Blake passed something to Weiss, though it took a few attempts and a poke of Blake's face for her to grasp it. Weiss now held a red and black permanent marker. She glossed over it, but did not care for why it was in her hands.

"If I pass out, it's because I'm _bored_. My sister said that the best parties are the ones where everything out of the ordinary happens, but look around." Weiss prolonged the last syllable, arms flopping lazily by her side. "People are just talking or throwing each other at walls. That happens every day!"

"And I'm afraid I won't provide much more than that. If you'll excuse me…"

Blake tried to slink by Weiss, but she was apprehended with an arm around her shoulder.

"Blaaaake…" Weiss whined. "Don't be boring. Have some fun with me. Let's go raid the teacher's lounge, set off fireworks in Ozpin's office, flood the bathrooms, just something. Your queen demands you to entertain her!"

"You're going to have to do it with somebody else." Blake tried to wave away Weiss' alcoholic breath.

"I don't know these silly troglodytes, and they're all drunk!"

"The pot calling the kettle black." Blake sighed. She picked up Weiss by the shoulders and moved her in the direction of somebody else. "There's Nora. Do dumb things with her."

As Blake said, several feet in front of them, surrounded by other people, Nora lay on the floor, drooling. She could have been mistaken as unconscious.

Nora noticed Weiss and Blake looking at her, and sat up, yawning and rubbing her eyes.

"Is the monochrome pairing coming true, or are you just happy to see me?" Nora winked at them.

"Have fun." Blake withdrew from Weiss.

"Have fun?" Weiss repeated, looking up as she thought. "Then I will have fun with Nora! I think I could stand to be on her mental level for once!" She slammed a fist into her palm.

Nora pounced for Weiss and gave her a high five that echoed over the music.

"Yeah, drunk Weiss is probably cool!"

They stood back to back with satisfied grins.

"Of course I'm 'cool.' Get it?" Weiss snorted with laughter.

"Damn, good one, Weiss!" Nora positively said with a confident tone. "That's pretty original!"

"That's right, Nora, and speaking of original, I've got an idea!"

"What's your brand new original idea, Weiss?"

"Nora, pin down Blake while I draw whiskers on her!"

Blake had taken several steps away from them, believing she would never speak to them again tonight, when she heard those words. The Faunus shot around, wide eyed.

"Excuse-"

Blake was instantly interrupted when Nora crashed into her, holding her against the ground. Nora was much stronger, and no amount of struggling could help Blake escape. Several people saw the commotion, and formed a circle around them.

"Make her even cuter, Weiss!"

Weiss ripped off the permanent marker's cap, a devilish squint fixed on her face.

"Blake, it seems you will be a participant in my fun-filled activities after all."

"You fiend, get away, this isn't funny!" Blake frightfully tried to worm out of Nora's grasp.

"It is to us, and that's all that matters!" Weiss kneeled over Blake.

"That is _not_ all that- AH!"

Weiss made several elegant strokes across Blake's cheeks, managing to make them perfectly curve even as Blake yelped and wriggled.

"Ruby is going to love this, I assure you." Weiss mockingly comforted her.

Blake shook off Weiss as Nora let go. She was far from pleased, and Weiss and Nora rested on the ground, looking up at her with smirks they could barely conceal.

"You maniacs!" Blake bawled, with black streaks imprinted on her cheeks.

Blake covered her face with one hand, and pushed through the bystanders with the other. Some laughed, a few gave an 'aw,' but everybody stood out of her way, worried that she might hit the first person who tried to stop her or take a picture.

"Blake be mad." Nora half-heartedly commented.

"We be amused." Weiss pulled herself up with a table. "Join me, servant."

Weiss helped up her partner in crime. This may have been the first time they actually did something together. And what a glorious something it was.

"Princess, you and I can do great things together." Nora rested on Weiss' shoulder. "Who knew that you had a conniving side?"

"I know…" Weiss sluggishly stared ahead, finger on her temple and glossy eyed. "What I just did is the epitome of evil forced into a sadistic singularity presented through a devious action that inflicts terrible emotional harm on another living being."

Although Weiss had blown her action out of proportion as though she had committed a cardinal sin against humanity, Nora absorbed her hyperbolic statement.

"Wow, how do you feel?" Nora passionately asked.

"Booooored." Weiss emotionally whined and fell backwards. Even when she thought that she performed the actions of a malevolent God, Weiss was not entertained.

"Bored!?" Nora gasped, giving off a scent of beer. "That just won't do! I can't let royalty go bored!"

Although Weiss was only called 'princess' as an affectionate or mocking nickname, Nora seemed to gain the impression that she really was an aristocrat.

"Then go off in search of some amusement, and make it snappy."

Weiss entwined her legs and crossed her arms.

"Yes, your majesty!" Nora saluted.

Nora dashed into the crowd, knocking several people to the ground. A few flew in the air as she forged a line with brute strength. Meanwhile, Fox, now with a black eye, approached the boombox and changed the song from 'Die' to another called 'Pray.'

From the entrance of the cafeteria, somebody came screeching inside.

Jaune scratched the floor as he came to a stop, grabbing the edge of the entrance. Diving inside, he hurtled towards Weiss, as she coincidentally sat on the highest table, therefore giving the best vantage point of the party.

"Ah, servant number two." Weiss flared her nostrils at Jaune as he climbed the tables next to her. "Finally, you arrive."

"Not now, Wine Queen." It was difficult to judge how much Jaune had drank at this point, as he seemed somewhat in control of his actions.

"Ignoring your master? How uncouth." Weiss turned away while pouting her upper lip.

Jaune waved his hands over his head, and shouted as loud as he could.

"Everyone! Everyone, I need your attention!" Jaune yelled. He sounded serious.

'Hey, he set up this party!' An individual called.

'All hail Jaune!'

People chanted his name.

An aggravated Weiss stomped the ground.

"Why are people worshipping this buffoon!?"

"Yeah, I did make this party, but now I've gotta end it!"

Immediately, somebody threw a can at him.

The people's response to him trying to end the party without hearing his reasoning was to boo, the polar opposite of how they reacted to him a moment ago. It would seem that nobody wanted the festivities to end just yet, if the variety of thrown drinking cups was an indication. Jaune shielded himself from the assault before speaking again.

"Listen, most of the teachers were distracted long enough for us to start, but not all of them! Ozpin's on the way, and we don't know what he's got up his sleeve."

'Who cares?' A voice reached out to everyone's ears. 'Even Ozpin can't stop us now. He's got nothin' on us!'

Most of them were in agreement. Ozpin's imminent intrusion fazed nobody, possibly because they were too inebriated to know otherwise.

"Oh, come on," Jaune pleaded, "Ozpin carries around a hit list in case he wants a student to be humiliated. He makes students offers they can't refuse. He's got connections in dark places throughout the disciplinary office and snitches in our own circles of friends!"

'Please, you make him sound like a mafia boss.'

At this point, Jaune was no longer being listened to. Only a pair from team SSSN wore worried looks, and nervously hung around Weiss and Jaune. An equally anxious Jaune descended to the floor, rubbing his hands together and glancing in every direction in case Ozpin appeared from thin air.

"Hah," Weiss chortled in Jaune's face, "And now, you return to being a peasant, you plebeian. Only one person deserves the attention of their lower class servants, me!"

"You're a weird drunk, you know that?" Jaune kept his back to the table.

For a few minutes, the party continued as normal.

Then Ozpin arrived.

Ozpin entered unannounced, yet everybody noticed him. He occupied the whole entrance, with not a single person daring to come closer.

He cleared his throat.

"A little birdie whispered in my ear." Ozpin's voice resonated through the cafeteria. "That a party is currently underway. Who is responsible for this?"

Jaune screamed and jumped out of a window.

His impromptu exit sparked a panic in the party. Screaming and ear-splitting noises enveloped the area, as people tried to escape through various methods. A small group humorously formed a human ladder to try and reach a vent, others opened the windows with more caution that Jaune, but none tried to run past Ozpin.

In Jaune's escape, his pants were caught on a fragment of the window, the glass ripping his clothing. He had to physically tear the pants to escape.

"That guy seems to know his shit!" One of the two members of SSSN who stayed near them shouted. If Weiss recalled, his name was Sage.

At first, neither Weiss nor Jaune realised that Sage was pointing at the blonde boy, but they noticed the new pair running to join him.

"Weiss, come on!" Jaune urged, clinging to the outer side of the window before jumping down.

"You expect me to expend energy on leaving with my own two legs? Pah!" Weiss spat.

"How else are you gonna get out of this?" Jaune was about to leave.

"By using someone else's legs." Weiss snapped her fingers, flaring her nostrils again. "Nora, attend me!"

"Coming, my liege!"

Nora careered for Weiss out of the blue, toppling the human ladder. They landed in a pile as the boisterous girl flipped in front of her master.

Weiss mounted Nora's back, who grabbed her legs while the queen put her arms around the steed's chest.

"Follow Jaune!" Weiss pointed at him.

"At once!"

The two members of SSSN looked at each other, puzzled. The second, Scarlet, shrugged and led Sage to join the trio. Simultaneously, Nora wasted no time in her duty as a transport, and hopped through the broken window with Jaune, Scarlet and Sage.

They fell a few feet before hitting the grass. In Nora's escape, she slipped on a table, and it slid with her momentum, falling from its stack. The table partially poked through their exit window.

Stars in the night sky overlooked the group as they rested against the wall, waiting to see if Ozpin or somebody else would come from the window. The Emerald Forest was barely visible in the distance, and a breeze ruffled their clothing.

"Are we clear?" Scarlet asked, with a fairly regal tone of voice. All but Weiss and Nora were terrified.

Jaune mustered his courage and jumped for the table edge, using it pull himself to the window ledge. He had barely looked inside when the rest of the table followed, striking the ground in front of a laissez Weiss and Nora with a tremendous clatter. Jaune rolled to his back.

"RUN!" Jaune squealed, as Scarlet helped him up.

They charged for the Emerald Forest's border, sprinting through a field of grass and flowers in their great escape. Beacon became smaller and the dark trees became larger. They had no idea where they were running, but Beacon was the last place on Remnant they should be right now. In fact, no one actually knew what would happen if they stayed, but if Ozpin wanted to shut the party down, their scholarships might have been at stake, particularly for Jaune.

It might have only been two minutes, but the group had run far. So far, in fact, that they were no longer on Beacon grounds.

They sat in an alcove under a cliff on the edge of the Emerald Forest. The overhang loomed above, hiding some of the sky and blocking all view of Beacon. A few stars could still be seen when looking forward from the cliff, but the forest was the main visual attraction, its trees inviting complete darkness. However, the area around them was quite open, with plenty of space between the rock wall and forest.

Weiss tapped Nora's shoulder.

"Departing."

Nora lowered her to the ground. She gained her composure while Scarlet and Sage stood towards a panting Jaune.

"Listen," Sage looked sincere, despite his strong, course voice, "we just want to say thanks for helping us out."

"Indeed," Scarlet continued, "this was our first party, and we can't afford to put our placements here at risk."

Jaune put a hand on both of them.

"What are your names?"

"Sage."

"Scarlet."

Jaune lowered his head with a breath, as though summoning his inner heroism. Then, he looked them both in the eye.

"Sage, Scarlet, I'm getting you guys outta here! It's gonna be okay, I promise."

Jaune seemed slightly demented as he tried to play the hero role, continuing the trend of him trying to be 'a cool guy.' Weiss could still not tell if he was drunk, as the traits he exhibited now were all traits belonging to sober Jaune anyway. The members of SSSN now became dubious of placing their faith in him.

"Okay…" Sage took a step back.

"Yes, I regret to inform you that we are already out of trouble now." Scarlet said with a hair flick.

"Are we?" Jaune barely tried convincing them otherwise. "What if someone comes looking for us?"

"Mate, I know you've got triumphant horns blasting in your head, but we're in the middle of butt-fuck nowhere." Sage argued. "Nobody's lookin' for us."

"This is where we part ways." Scarlet tapped Sage's hand, inviting him closer. "Thank you for a wonderful evening Jaune, but I think it best if we terminate our association for a while."

They did not bother waiting for a response from Jaune, presumably feeling that he would just try to play the hero by persuading them to stay close. Scarlet put an arm through Sage's own and left from the opposite side of the cliff from where they came, allowing them to reach the dormitories quicker.

"Boy, it feels good to be brave and take charge of somebody else's wellbeing. All in a day's work." Jaune heroically stood.

"Jaune, cease your random babbling." Weiss ordered, arms crossed.

"Yes, ma'am…"

From the simple response, Weiss gained a sense of superiority. She stood in the centre of the area, digging her heel in the moist grass, with Nora fawning over her like a devotee.

"Now, check on the condition of the party. How many of my people remain in the cafeteria?"

Jaune had no reaction to Weiss calling the residents 'her people.' He simply took out his scroll and contacted somebody. Meanwhile, Nora tenderly stroked Weiss' arm, as though showing adoration for a master.

"Hey, Ren." Jaune spoke into his scroll.

He switched the scroll to speaker mode.

 _'_ _Jaune? Where did you go?'_ Ren's voice could be heard.

"We're in a patch of grass near the forest. What happened at the party?"

 _'_ _I'm sorry, could you say that again? The music is quite loud.'_

The trio shared confused looks. How could music be playing if the party was over? Over the scroll, they could partially here segments of 'Time to say Goodbye.'

"Music? But didn't Ozpin crash the party?" Jaune asked.

 _'_ _Not quite. He just wanted to find the one who started it. The panic is over.'_

"But, what did he want with me?"

 _'_ _He just wanted to tell you that you need to make sure nobody goes on a drunken rampage and destroys the school. Nothing serious.'_

Jaune dropped his scroll with a despairing cry.

There was never a threat to anybody's scholarship. There was no need to flee for their lives, and no need to dodge Ozpin like a plague. Now, they were separated from the party, in the middle of nowhere, as Sage put it.

 _'_ _Are you okay, Jaune? You can still come back.'_

"How can I go back to the party? I just staged the most pointless escape in Beacon's history. I'll be a laughing stock if I go back." Jaune picked up his scroll. "I'd rather stay here and keep my reputation intact."

 _'_ _Have fun.'_

Ren hung up, and rolling his eyes, Jaune put his scroll away.

Ren's simple and possibly sarcastic response triggered something inside Weiss and Nora. The concept of having fun was not lost on them this evening, and the absence of the party would not stop them from ascertaining this notion.

"You two going back? I think I'll just go to bed." Jaune despondently said.

"Go back?" Weiss puffed out her cheeks and pointed at him. "No, we are certainly not going back to that party, filled top to bottom with rapscallions and gormless, pigeon-livered scallywags."

Weiss slowly strutted across the large patch of damp grass, not noticing mud clinging to her boots. Nora trailed after her, copying her straight-backed pose, hands behind back.

"Weiss, where are you going with this?" Jaune cautiously asked.

"At the same time, however, we cannot afford to end the night just yet." Weiss progressed her haughty speech. "The exciting chaos of my reign must be brought to fruition, you see. But another bash will be required, one greater than whatever Jaune conjured."

"Never mind, this is going exactly where I think it's going."

Weiss stomped the ground as she whipped around, spraying mud, ponytail flapping, and glassy eyes focused.

"We shall start our own party, right here and right now, with blackjack and hookers!"

"Our queen has spoken!" Nora jumped for joy, parading around Weiss.

"Oh, boy…" Jaune put his hands behind his head, breathing in.

"Right now, we do not have the required proponents or resources for a grand party. Like a true aristocrat, I shall lead and make decisions without consulting people with common sense so that we may enjoy a steady downfall into ruin, but there will be enjoyment nonetheless!"

"The downfall to ruin has no brakes!" Nora continued to advocate her queen.

"Guess that means I can't get off…" Jaune whined.

"Subject number one," Weiss pointed at Nora, "Go back to the cafeteria and procure as much alcohol as possible."

"At once!"

Nora dashed away, leaving a dust cloud in her wake.

"Hark, subject number two." Weiss now aimed at Jaune. "Retrieve as many of my followers as possible, by any means necessary."

"Your… followers?"

"Our social circle, you nincompoop. Yang, Ren, Pyrrha, anybody we know must attend."

"I…" Jaune sighed. "Fine. This night's gonna get interesting."

* * *

 **Present day.**

Weiss, embarrassed, sat with her legs crossed, looking away from Jaune and Nora with a blush. She hoped the shade of her parasol would hide her red cheeks.

"Best. Master. Ever." Nora commented.

"A-Anyway," Weis cleared her throat, "it would seem that we have a new area to investigate."

"Hang on a second," Jaune chuckled, "are we just ignoring the comedy that is drunken Weiss pretending to be a queen?"

"You will ignore it and tell no one, or you will become a block of ice which I shall shave to cool my drinks."

"Fair enough."

Overhead, a small, white airship came into view, descending to the air pad.

Weiss departed from the statue, having missed the airship, and faced her companions.

"That one word intrigues me." Weiss pondered.

"Which one?"

"Fun."

"Fun makes the world go round." Nora philosophised.

"That is what you and my drunken alter ego believed, at any rate." Weiss considered, hand to chin. "I had some intriguing responses to the concept of having fun, like it was my only reason for any of my actions that night. When somebody told me to have fun, it felt like a dare for me to do something stupid."

"And?" Jaune asked.

"I think that one word was important to my drunken self. Important enough that she may have used it as a certain password."

"Oh, for your scroll."

Weiss pulled out her slightly scratched scroll and brought up the locked call recording. When asked for the password, she typed 'FUN.' She held a high degree of confidence in this password, knowing for certain that it would unlock the contents of her call with Yang. She would finally gain the answers of how she ended up in bed with Yang.

PASSWORD DENIED

Weiss' scroll skipped across the side lake and struck professor Port on the head, knocking him unconscious.

"Was that the password?" Nora naively asked.

"…No."

"Eh, doesn't matter." Nora said. "I'll figure out the secret to being paired with Yang event- Woah!"

Nora's abrupt end to her statement accompanied her flailing Ren's sleeves, leaving the other two confused. She stared intently at the other end of the courtyard.

"Woah, what?" Jaune asked.

"Pretty lady, twelve o clock."

"We're in Beacon, we see unrealistically attractive people every day." Weiss replied.

However, Weiss felt a chilling cold wash over her, and felt somebody approaching. Filling with dread, she turned around, and saw somebody against the backdrop of the white airship.

Winter Schnee carried herself with a sense of elegance, but differently to that of Weiss. Winter held more pride, more arrogance, more superiority, the smile on her face suggesting that there was never a situation in which she was beneath somebody. And yet, she never explicitly flaunted her ego, like any occasion was something of a casual event which she never took seriously, but the tall woman always knew how to brush aside any state of affairs presented to her with an overpowering presence and unattainable status. Winter gave the impression that she was irreproachable, someone you could not engage with, as she was the one who would choose to engage with you.

Winter clicked her fingers at professor Port, who woke in an instant. He looked up at her and gulped before picking up Weiss' scroll and giving it to her. Winter flicked it between her fingers, one hand on her hip and disregarding Port's existence.

"Weiss, Weiss, Weiss…" Winter strolled forward, speaking in a tone that mixed sardonic, sophisticated and superior into one. "The Invincible Girl asked me to assist you with your little romance trouble. The least you could have done for your big sister is continuing to wear that curious pimp get-up for her amusement. Not very gratuitous, I must say."


End file.
